US EditionIran War Puts Gulf's Desalination Plants at Risk
The conflict has exposed vulnerabilities in Persian Gulf desalination plants that provide up to 90% of drinking water in some Gulf states, raising concerns over regional water security.
- On Feb. 28, the war began and fighting has moved close to desalination plants, with Iranian strikes near Dubai’s Jebel Ali port and damage reported at UAE and Kuwait facilities.
- More than 90% of the Gulf’s desalinated water comes from 56 critical desalination plants, many co‑located with power stations, increasing risk from attacks on electrical systems and fossil fuel infrastructure.
- Nearly 450 desalination facilities serve the Gulf, with Kuwait about 90%, Oman roughly 86%, and Saudi Arabia about 70% reliant on them for drinking water; Saudi Arabia’s Jubail Desalination Plant supplies Riyadh with over 90% of its water.
- Deliberate oil releases created one of the largest spills, threatening desalination intake pipes, while fighting halted tanker traffic and disrupted ports, and analysts warn outages could leave cities without drinking water.
- Iran’s own water crisis shows that, after five years of drought, Tehran reservoirs fell to about 10% capacity, prompting warnings of possible evacuation, while Iran expands desalination despite sanctions and energy costs.
107 Articles
107 Articles
Iran War — Water is a key vector
Eight of the ten largest desalination plants on earth sit on the Arabian Peninsula coast. Together the Gulf states account for roughly sixty percent of global desalination capacity. A hundred million people drink what these facilities manufacture from seawater every single day. Kuwait gets ninety percent of its drinking water from desalination. Oman eighty-six. Saudi Arabia seventy. Without these plants, the most powerful petroleum states on ear…
Drinking water latest target of Iran war: Rivals strike desalination plants
Recent attacks and allegations surrounding desalination facilities in the Gulf have revived fears that the Iran war could spill over into the Middle East's fragile water systems, triggering a humanitarian crisis. Not just oil, drinking water could be in the crosshairs too.
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