THE NEW YORK TIMES: Strikes on nonmilitary infrastructure were a “serious escalation,” analysts said, and could widen the war’s impact on civilians.
Water desalination plants have come under attack in Iran and on the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain over the weekend, threatening a resource vital to life in the harsh desert climates of the region.
On Saturday, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, accused the United States of attacking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island, affecting the water supply for 30 villages.
“The U.S. set this precedent, not Iran,” he said on social media, calling the attack “a dangerous move with grave consequences.”
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said that U.S. forces were not responsible for that attack.
A day later, Bahrain’s interior ministry said that an Iranian drone had “caused material damage” to a desalination plant there, accusing Iran of “indiscriminately” attacking civilian targets. The country’s water and electricity authority said there had been “no impact on water supplies or water network capacity.”
It was not immediately clear whether either plant was still functioning. And there was no immediate comment from Iran on Bahrain’s allegation.
Iran has faced severe water shortages in recent years, and Gulf countries like Bahrain depend heavily on desalination technology — which turns seawater into drinking water — to sustain tens of millions of people. Desalination infrastructure is one of the most vulnerable military targets in the region because without it, the Gulf’s sprawling metropolises would effectively collapse. » | Vivian Nereim | Reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Sunday, March 8, 2026
