Water infrastructure in the Persian Gulf under threat: Iran strikes desalination plant in Kuwait

Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water reported this morning that Iran attacked a power plant and a desalination plant. One person was killed and the site was seriously damaged. Repair crews are working on site, attempting to maintain operational continuity at a facility of critical social and economic importance.

Kuwaiti seawater desalination plant under fire

Tensions in the Persian Gulf region are not easing. Missiles launched by Iran struck a desalination plant and its associated technical building in Kuwaiti territory on Monday morning. The local Ministry of Electricity and Water assured that emergency plans were immediately activated, and technical teams and emergency services were dispatched to the site. According to the ministry, water and electricity supplies across the country remain secure.

Ministry spokesperson Fatima Jawhar Hayat emphasized that maintaining the stability and security of Kuwait’s energy and water systems remains the top priority. As much as 90 percent of the country’s drinking water comes from seawater desalination, making the integrated power and desalination plants in Shuaiba, Doha, Sabiya, and Al Zour the backbone of national security.

The critical importance of desalination

The entire Middle East is struggling with severe water shortages due to challenging geographic and climatic conditions – not a single river flows across the entire Arabian Peninsula. According to the World Resources Institute, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar rank among the five countries with the highest levels of water stress in the world. Nearly 5,000 desalination plants operate across the region, more than anywhere else on Earth. A study published in early 2026 in npj Clean Water shows that they account for 42 percent of global desalination.

Due to the energy-intensive nature of desalination, water production facilities are usually logistically linked to power plants. Military attacks on this critical infrastructure therefore threaten disruptions in both water and electricity supply, potentially leading to complete socio-economic paralysis. According to the Al Jazeera news network, the well-being of 62 million people in the region depends on desalination infrastructure.

Desalination covers 77.3 percent of total water demand in Qatar, 67.5 percent in Bahrain, 52.1 percent in the United Arab Emirates, 42.2 percent in Kuwait, and 31 percent in Oman. This includes not only drinking water, but also resources for industry and data center operations.

Water infrastructure under attack

Observers of the conflict in the Middle East suggest that water may prove to be an even more valuable resource than oil, which has dominated headlines for over a month. Both sides of the conflict are affected – on March 12, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the United States of attacking a desalination plant on Qeshm Island. As a result of the strike, 30 local villages were cut off from water supplies. Less than 24 hours later, an Iranian drone hit the Al-Muharrak desalination plant in Bahrain.

The threat posed by attacks on water infrastructure in the Middle East has been discussed for some time. David Michel, a representative of the Global Food and Water Security Program, wrote on March 19: Article 54(2) of the 1977 Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions expressly prohibits attacking or destroying objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population, such as (…) drinking water installations and supplies. Targeting such essential civilian infrastructure violates international law and may constitute a war crime.

Meanwhile, Tehran had already responded a week earlier to Trump’s threats by announcing the irreversible destruction of water infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. According to journalists from The Guardian, such a scenario could lead to a healthcare crisis, disruption of business and industrial activity, and panic on a massive scale.