# Amazon loses customer data in Iranian strikes

> Six months after drone attacks, AWS admits permanent data loss across Middle Eastern data centers.
- Title: Amazon loses customer data in Iranian strikes · WIRED
- Summary: Six months after drone attacks, AWS admits permanent data loss across Middle Eastern data centers. Amazon Web Services has permanently lost customer data…
- Keywords: amazon web services, aws, data loss, iran strikes, bahrain, united arab emirates, data centers, customer data, drone attacks, infrastructure damage, cloud computing, Amazon
- Source: WIRED — https://wired.com/story/customer-data-permanently-lost-in-iran-strikes-on-amazon-data-centers
- Author: Jeremy Hsu
- Published: 2026-09-17T19:15:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: amazon web services, aws, data loss, iran strikes, bahrain, united arab emirates, data centers, customer data, drone attacks, infrastructure damage, cloud computing
## Iranian strikes destroy Amazon data
Six months after Iranian drone attacks on Amazon data centers in Bahrain and the UAE, AWS confirmed permanent loss of customer data that cannot be restored.
## One UAE zone completely lost
Customer data in the mec1-az2 availability zone in the UAE was irretrievably lost, while AWS continues recovery efforts in the other two zones.
## Bahrain damage even more severe
All three availability zones in Bahrain were damaged beyond recovery, with AWS unable to restore any resources or data across the entire region.

> The damage to our infrastructure spanned multiple availability zones and exceeded what our regional and multi-AZ services are designed to withstand.
## Three separate Iranian attacks
Iran struck on March 1, April 1, and July 24, with the final missile strike specifically targeting remaining Amazon data center structures in Bahrain.
## AWS issued credits and suspended billing
Amazon suspended customer billing in affected regions and issued $150 million in credits after the initial March strikes, urging customers to migrate to other cloud regions.
## Recovery expected in early 2027
AWS committed to long-term support for Bahrain customers and promised a further update in early 2027, six months after the initial strikes.

> We remain committed to supporting our customers in Bahrain in the long term and will share a further update in early 2027.
## Key takeaway

Amazon Web Services has permanently lost customer data hosted in Bahrain and UAE data centers after Iranian strikes, with some regions completely unrecoverable.