Drone Strikes Target Amazon Data Centers in Middle East
On March 1, Iranian drone strikes targeted three Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the Middle East, specifically two in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the attacks were justified due to the data centers’ support for U.S. military operations. These incidents marked the first confirmed military strikes on a hyperscale cloud provider.
The strikes severely disrupted cloud services in the affected regions, impacting banks, online payment systems, and various businesses, with global repercussions felt by AWS users. Following the attacks, Amazon advised clients to secure their data outside the region. As a result, the ongoing military conflict is expected to halt the rapid expansion of AI and data center infrastructure in the Middle East for the remainder of 2026.
With fewer than 100 operational data centers in the Middle East compared to thousands in North America and Europe, hyperscalers are likely to redirect their focus towards safer regions, such as southeastern Europe and India, amidst concerns about the escalating risks in the area.
