Iran accused the US of destroying critical infrastructure keeping 30 villages alive, then fired precision missiles at the Bahrain base responsible

Iran has accused the United States of destroying a water desalination plant on Qeshm Island. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said it fired precision missiles at the U.S. base in Bahrain that was allegedly responsible for the attack. President Trump later confirmed that the U.S. had hit Iran’s freshwater desalination plants.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned what he called a “blatant and desperate crime” on X. He said the attack came from the U.S. Jufair base in Bahrain and cut off water supply to 30 villages on Qeshm Island. Araghchi warned that attacking Iran’s infrastructure is a “dangerous move with grave consequences.”

According to ABC7 News, when asked about the attack, President Trump said, “They are among the most evil people ever on earth, they cut babies’ heads off, they chop women in half, what they did, take a look at October 7th… if they’re complaining about a desalination plant, we complain about the fact that they shouldn’t be chopping babies’ heads off, okay?”

Desalination plants are the hidden lifeline of the Gulf, and that makes them a powerful target

Analysts are now worried that water, not oil, could become the most critical resource at risk in the Persian Gulf. Hundreds of desalination plants line the coast, all within range of missile or drone strikes. Without these facilities, major cities in the region simply could not support their large populations.

Some Gulf countries are almost entirely dependent on desalination. Kuwait gets about 90% of its drinking water this way, Oman relies on it for roughly 86%, and Saudi Arabia for about 70%. Michael Christopher Low, who directs the Middle East Center at the University of Utah, describes these countries not just as “petrostates” but as “saltwater kingdoms,” calling them both major achievements of the 20th century and serious vulnerabilities.

The conflict began on February 28 with joint U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. U.S. officials have also warned that Trump’s demand for Iran’s full surrender could stretch this conflict much further. On March 2, Iranian strikes near Dubai’s Jebel Ali port landed just 12 miles from one of the world’s largest desalination plants. David Michel, a senior fellow for water security, calls targeting these plants an “asymmetrical tactic” for Iran to impose costs on Gulf countries.

A 2010 CIA analysis warned that attacks on desalination facilities could trigger national crises, with outages lasting months. It noted that over 90% of the Gulf’s desalinated water comes from just 56 plants, making “each of these critical plants extremely vulnerable to sabotage or military action.” A leaked 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable even suggested Riyadh might “have to evacuate within a week” if a major plant like Jubail were seriously damaged.

During Iraq’s 1990–1991 invasion of Kuwait, Iraqi forces sabotaged desalination facilities, leaving Kuwait without fresh water for years. International humanitarian law prohibits targeting civilian water infrastructure. Cyberattacks are also a growing concern, with Iran-aligned groups blamed for hacking U.S. water utilities in 2023 and 2024.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has since reported that an Iranian drone attack caused damage to a desalination plant in their country, just one day after Araghchi’s statement about the Qeshm Island attack. Iran has also escalated its missile capabilities in recent months, and how Iran’s most advanced missile works explains why military analysts consider it particularly dangerous. Iran itself is also facing a severe water crisis, with Tehran’s reservoirs at only 10% capacity after five years of extreme drought.