US strikes leave 20,000 without water as fears grow over Gulf infrastructure

US strikes on Iran on June 10 reportedly destroyed two water reservoirs, marking a significant escalation since the announcement of the ceasefire on April 8. The US described the attacks as “self-defence strikes” and a “proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression”. Iranian officials confirmed that the US strikes have damaged water reservoirs in Bemani and Kouhestak areas in Sirik County, southern Iran. Approximately 20,000 residents across the city and the surrounding 10 villages rely on the desalination plant for the drinking water supply. The temperature in the area has reached over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the last few days.

These strikes come in response to the downing of the Apache Helicopters patrolling the Strait of Hormuz. The pictures of fragments shared by the semi-official news portal Tasnim show what appears to be a lightweight precision glide bomb, GBU-39, according to the Open Source Munitions Portal. The strikes had also caused major damage to a telecommunications tower in the town of Sirik.

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Water-scarce West Asia region

According to a CSIS report, the GCC countries, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, are among the most arid regions on Earth and depend on desalination plants for freshwater, as it has scant constellation of groundwater aquifers. A desalination plant uses thermal distillation or reverse osmosis to remove salt and minerals from seawater, making it suitable for human consumption, such as drinking, irrigation and industrial use. These facilities are particularly critical for regions like Iran, as freshwater reserves are scarce. The desalination plants account for 77.3 per cent of total water demand in Qatar, 67.5 per cent in Bahrain, 52.1 per cent in the UAE, 42.2 per cent in Kuwait, 31 per cent in Oman, and 18.1 per cent in Saudi Arabia. For drinking water, Qatar is 99 per cent, Bahrain over 90 per cent, Kuwait over 90 per cent, Oman 86 per cent, Saudi Arabia 70 per cent, and the UAE over 42 per cent. All of them are precariously in range of Iranian missiles and drones.

Iran was already facing a multiyear drought before the US-Israeli war. 2025 was the fifth consecutive drought year, and across the country, around 19 dams had run dry. Isa Bozorgzadeh, spokesperson of Iran's water industry, claimed the US strike on Iranian water reservoirs was a war crime, as reported by WANA (West Asia News Agency). The Berlin Rules of Water Resources, drafted by the International Law Association, protect water resources and prohibit countries at war from destroying them. However, the US have not declared its intent to strike water infrastructure, though from the satellite images it was clear that both buildings stand in remote areas without any other infrastructure nearby. Hitting remote buildings and striking the centre of a roof are considered likely indicators of a precision strike. This is the second strike by the US on Iran's water infrastructure after the March 7 attack on Qeshm Island off the coast of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off water supply to 30 villages. In response, Iran retaliated by targeting the desalination plants in Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. Now this escalation by the US provides Iran with the justification for targeting the water infrastructures in the GCC, which would be disastrous.