diff --git a/test/s3/iam/s3_iam_framework.go b/test/s3/iam/s3_iam_framework.go
index 178ae0763..c155b7358 100644
--- a/test/s3/iam/s3_iam_framework.go
+++ b/test/s3/iam/s3_iam_framework.go
@@ -705,12 +705,22 @@ func (f *S3IAMTestFramework) CreateBucketWithCleanup(s3Client *s3.S3, bucketName
 				f.t.Logf("Warning: Failed to delete existing bucket %s: %v", bucketName, deleteErr)
 			}
 
+			// Add a small delay to allow deletion to propagate
+			time.Sleep(100 * time.Millisecond)
+
 			// Now create it fresh
 			_, err = s3Client.CreateBucket(&s3.CreateBucketInput{
 				Bucket: aws.String(bucketName),
 			})
 			if err != nil {
-				return fmt.Errorf("failed to recreate bucket after cleanup: %v", err)
+				// If it still says bucket exists after cleanup, it might be in an inconsistent state
+				// In this case, just use the existing bucket since we emptied it
+				if awsErr, ok := err.(awserr.Error); ok && (awsErr.Code() == "BucketAlreadyExists" || awsErr.Code() == "BucketAlreadyOwnedByYou") {
+					f.t.Logf("Bucket %s still exists after cleanup, reusing it", bucketName)
+					// Bucket exists and is empty, so we can proceed
+				} else {
+					return fmt.Errorf("failed to recreate bucket after cleanup: %v", err)
+				}
 			}
 		} else {
 			return err