AWS stops billing Middle East cloud customers as repairs to war damage drag on
Amazon Web Services (AWS) has suspended billing for Middle East customers as it continues repairs on data centers damaged by Iranian drone strikes in March 2026. The attacks affected facilities in the UAE and Bahrain, causing extensive damage including server outages, flooding, and cooling system failures. AWS expects full recovery to take several months, urging customers to migrate to other regions and use remote backups.
- ▪Iranian drone strikes in March 2026 damaged AWS data centers in the UAE and Bahrain.
- ▪AWS suspended billing for affected regions ME-CENTRAL-1 and ME-SOUTH-1, waiving an estimated $150 million in March charges.
- ▪Damage included 14 offline EC2 server racks, flooding from fire suppression systems, and cooling system failures.
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Cloudy forecast Amazon stuck with months of repairs after drone strikes on data centers AWS stops billing Middle East cloud customers as repairs to war damage drag on. Jeremy Hsu – May 1, 2026 1:09 pm | 24 Smoke rises after an explosion in the industrial zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defense, according to the Fujairah media office on March 5, 2026, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Credit: Christopher Pike/Getty Images Smoke rises after an explosion in the industrial zone, caused by debris after interception of a drone by air defense, according to the Fujairah media office on March 5, 2026, in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
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