Why Iran targeted Amazon data centers and what that does – and doesn’t – change about warfare
Quick Insights
The Bottom Line
Iran attacked Amazon data centers in UAE and Bahrain on March 1, 2026, marking first deliberate targeting of commercial data centers during wartime.
How This Affects You
If you rely on cloud services or banking systems dependent on Middle Eastern data centers, this attack demonstrates commercial infrastructure vulnerability and may affect service reliability and costs.
AI Summary
Iranian Shahed drones struck two Amazon Web Services data centers in the United Arab Emirates and a third commercial facility in Bahrain on March 1, 2026, marking the first deliberate targeting of commercial data centers during wartime. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed the strikes targeted infrastructure supporting "the enemy's" military and intelligence activities, though the data centers are required by U.S. law to store only government and military data within the U.S. or on Department of Defense bases. The attack caused widespread disruption to the UAE's banking system and underscores Iran's strategy of targeting U.S.-allied Gulf infrastructure that hosts AI computing power increasingly used by the Trump administration's military operations. Iran has indicated it considers commercial data centers "enemy technology infrastructure" and may continue targeting such facilities in the region. The strikes risk jeopardizing future U.S. technological investment in Gulf AI infrastructure.
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Why We Went Looking for National Defense Areas Along the U.S. Southern Border
The post Why We Went Looking for National Defense Areas Along the U.S. Southern Border appeared first on ProPublica .
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