Iran is poised to attack critical desalination infrastructure in the Middle East within days, escalating tensions with the US and Israel and triggering global economic fallout, a UN official warned on Sunday.
Kave Madanian Iranian scientist and UN official, said desalination plants across the region could be hit “within the coming days”, raising the prospect of a wider regional water crisis and impacting global markets.
The regime’s strike threats on Sunday came in response to President Donald Trump’s warning that the US would hit Iran’s energy infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz was opened within 48 hours.
A spokesperson for the central headquarters of Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya (PBUH) said: “Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all US and regime energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure in the region will be targeted.”
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UN official Kaveh Madani warns that desalination plants across the Middle East could be hit within days, triggering a regional water crisis and global economic fallout. (ruelleruelle/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“A real water war could happen in the world’s driest region, but the knock-on effects on the global economy, including the US, will be both immediate and lasting,” Madani said, pointing to what he described as a “new phase in the conflict” involving such critical civilian infrastructure.
“Now add the possibility of damage to already vulnerable water infrastructure, including treatment plants, pumping stations and distribution networks,” he said. “The consequences would be catastrophic and lasting.”
Kaveh’s warning comes as the conflict – now in its fourth week – has expanded beyond military targets. Desalination plants, including a plant on Iran’s Qeshm island and another in Bahrain, have reportedly already been hit.
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Iran threatens to attack desalination and energy infrastructure within days, a UN official has warned, citing lasting impacts on global markets and water supplies. (Gabriela Maj/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Desalination, the process of making drinkable water from seawater, is critical to water supplies throughout Israel and many neighboring countries on the Gulf of Iran, especially in such arid areas where natural freshwater is scarce.
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, reiterated the regime’s threats on Sunday in a post on
“In the event of a power outage, water treatment and distribution systems will also collapse in some parts of the country,” Madani clarified.
“Iran will retaliate by attacking desalination, energy and other energy-related infrastructure in all countries in the region that are party to the war, including Israel,” he added. “Oil and gas prices will continue to rise and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed, creating a humanitarian disaster as millions of people lose access to water and electricity in the region.”
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An aerial view of Qeshm Island, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait, December 10, 2023. (Stringer/File Photo/Reuters)
“The US has reportedly already attacked a desalination plant on Qeshm Island, and the Iranians are said to have responded by attacking a plant in Bahrain,” he said.
“Iran is the least dependent on desalination plants, so it explicitly includes them as legitimate targets for retaliation because this is the greatest vulnerability among the other sides in the Middle East war,” he added.
Despite that relative advantage, Iran itself has suffered years of severe drought, mismanagement of water resources and declining groundwater levels, leaving parts of the country increasingly flooded.
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“The unfortunate truth is that the Islamic Republic would rather allow the country to burn than appear weak in the face of an existential threat,” she said.
