diff --git a/.github/scripts/e2e_tests.sh b/.github/scripts/e2e_tests.sh
index ff589e4c..4d2ef309 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/e2e_tests.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/e2e_tests.sh
@@ -268,9 +268,10 @@ log_and_run echo "Verifying bucket deletion with name '$BUCKET_TO_BE_DELETED'...
 
 # Check if the bucket has been deleted
 log_and_run aws s3 ls --endpoint-url "$S3_ENDPOINT"
-
+AWS_MAX_ATTEMPTS= $ATTEMPTS
+AWS_RETRY_DELAY=$DELAY
 # Run head-bucket to check if the bucket has been deleted
-BUCKET_HEAD_RESULT=$(log_and_run AWS_MAX_ATTEMPTS=$ATTEMPTS AWS_RETRY_DELAY=$DELAY aws --endpoint-url "$S3_ENDPOINT" s3api head-bucket --bucket "$BUCKET_TO_BE_DELETED" --profile iam 2>&1 || true)
+BUCKET_HEAD_RESULT="$(log_and_run aws --endpoint-url "$S3_ENDPOINT" s3api head-bucket --bucket "$BUCKET_TO_BE_DELETED" --profile iam 2>&1 || true)"
 
 # Log the actual error result for debugging purposes
 log_and_run echo "head-bucket result: $BUCKET_HEAD_RESULT"