TLDR
- Unidentified objects impacted AWS facilities in the UAE on Sunday, triggering fires and infrastructure damage
- Fire response teams disconnected power to the affected facility; another UAE zone experienced independent power failures
- Bahrain-based AWS infrastructure is experiencing simultaneous power and network disruptions
- Timing aligns with Iranian military operations throughout the Gulf region, though AWS hasn’t established a confirmed connection
- AWS users have been directed to alternative regional services, with full restoration projected to require several hours
Amazon Web Services experienced significant service interruptions following an incident where unidentified projectiles impacted its United Arab Emirates data center facility on Sunday, resulting in fire damage and complete power loss.
The disruption began approximately 4:30 p.m. local time in Dubai. Emergency response teams disconnected electrical power to the structure to safely contain the flames.
Through its official status dashboard, AWS documented the situation, noting that “objects struck the data center, creating sparks and fire” at one of its UAE-based availability zones.
Subsequently, a separate UAE availability zone experienced what AWS characterized as a “localized power issue,” further amplifying service disruptions throughout the Emirates.
The cloud computing division simultaneously reported electrical and network connectivity challenges affecting one of its Bahrain-based zones.
AWS instructed its client base to utilize infrastructure located in alternative geographic regions during the repair process. The organization indicated that full service restoration would require “multiple hours away.”
These service disruptions occurred concurrently with Iranian missile strikes targeting the UAE, which formed part of an extensive retaliatory military campaign throughout the Middle East following combined US and Israeli strikes that resulted in the deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and additional high-ranking Iranian leadership.
Iran’s military response extended throughout the region, with ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle operations reported against American military installations and allied nations including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
AWS has neither verified nor dismissed whether the infrastructure damage at its UAE facility was directly linked to the Iranian military operations. An AWS representative declined to provide comment when approached for clarification.
AWS UAE Customers Affected
Notable AWS enterprise clients operating within the UAE include Al Ghurair Investment LLC and Dubai Islamic Bank.
AWS maintains operations across 123 availability zones spanning 39 geographic regions worldwide, providing extensive international coverage — though this distributed infrastructure didn’t completely prevent service disruption in this instance.
Recovery Still Underway
The organization reported partial restoration progress during Monday morning hours but subsequently revised that assessment, once again instructing customers to leverage alternative regional infrastructure.
As of Monday morning hours in Dubai, both UAE availability zones plus one Bahrain zone continued experiencing operational impacts.
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