The water situation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman—is one of the most unusual in the world. In short:
- The region has extremely little natural freshwater
- Most drinking water comes from desalinating seawater
- This system is expensive, energy-intensive, and strategically vulnerable
Most desalination plants:
- are large
- are on the coast
- supply millions of people
This makes them strategic targets. Recent reports say regional conflicts are now threatening desalination infrastructure, and some facilities have been struck in the current Iran-related escalation.
Smaller countries like Bahrain or Kuwait could run out of potable water within days if plants stop working. Millions of people in the GCC rely on the desalination plants in the region.
It Begins: Iranian Drone Strikes Bahrain Desalination Plant As Worst-Case Scenario Unfolds
To see why this is important read my blog post - World War III and the Strait of Hormuz?
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Israel probably attacked the water plant to blame Iran and further escalate the war.


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