Ras al-Khair water desalination plant, owned by the Saline Water Conversion Corporation of the Saudi government, in eastern Saudi Arabia, on March 30, 2023. (Credit: Fayez Nureldine/AFP)
As the conflict spreads across the Gulf, water infrastructure – long considered too sensitive to target – is increasingly coming under threat. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday accused the United States of striking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, calling the attack a major escalation. “The United States set this precedent, not Iran” he wrote on X.The following day, Bahrain reported material damage to one of its desalination plants after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone fell on Muharraq Island, northwest of Manama. These incidents highlight this often-overlooked infrastructure, which supplies the majority of the region’s drinking water.Heavy reliance on desalination"There are several desalination plants along Iran’s southern coast, and they do play a role in supplying municipal or...
As the conflict spreads across the Gulf, water infrastructure – long considered too sensitive to target – is increasingly coming under threat. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday accused the United States of striking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf, calling the attack a major escalation. “The United States set this precedent, not Iran” he wrote on X.The following day, Bahrain reported material damage to one of its desalination plants after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone fell on Muharraq Island, northwest of Manama. These incidents highlight this often-overlooked infrastructure, which supplies the majority of the region’s drinking water.Heavy reliance on desalination"There are several desalination plants along Iran’s southern coast, and they do play a role in supplying...
