New Delhi (India) April 2:On Wednesday, a missile attack by Iran targeted the Batelco tower in Hamala, Bahrain. Being the leading telecommunications company in the country, Batelco is the one that hosts Amazon Web Services. Following Tehran's announcement of a strike on US companies, Amazon looks like the first direct target.
Fire at Bahrain Batelco Tower, No Casualties Details
Iran attacked the cloud computing segment of Amazon in Bahrain. The country's interior ministry announced through a statement that after an Iranian offensive a fire was detected at a company site and then the civil defence units doused the flames.
Nevertheless, the ministry of interior in Bahrain did not disclose the name of the company allegedly attacked by Iran, nor did they release any information regarding casualties or the level of damage.
AWS Disrupted by Drone Strikes
Last week, operations of Amazon Web Services in Bahrain and the UAE were "disrupted" due to the ongoing West Asia war . It was the second time in a month that the facilities were affected.
An Amazon spokesperson told the news agency Reuters that it was the drone activity in the area that led to the disruption. The drone strikes have resulted in severe structural and power issues at a few data centers.
Amazon said, “As this situation evolves and, as we have advised before, we request those with workloads in the affected regions continue to migrate to other locations” in a statement released earlier.
Shift to Digital Infrastructure
Amazon Web Services data centers in Bahrain are among the main components of the region's digital infrastructure, powering businesses, financial systems, and government platforms throughout West Asia. Even a slight disruption could lead to connectivity issues, lack of access to data, and interruption of services in multiple sectors.
Up till now, the conflict has been mainly concentrated on military, logistics, and energy infrastructure facilities. The alleged targeting of a cloud computing center indicates a venture into digital infrastructure, an arena where the economic consequences can be much greater than the physical damage alone.
IRGC Targets US Tech Firms
The strike unfolds after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran had issued a warning that they would be targeting US companies in the Middle East, including Microsoft Apple IBM Tesla Amazon, as retaliation for the US-Israel joint attack on Iran.
"These companies, starting from 8:00 pm (1630 GMT) Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1, should expect the destruction of their relevant units in exchange for every assassination in Iran," Iran said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We advise the employees of these institutions to immediately leave their workplaces to preserve their lives," it added.