Iran is taking aim at Kuwait's most important resource: water

Iran has launched intense strikes against Kuwait's desalination plants over the past week, jeopardising its access to vital supplies of fresh water 25 July, 2026 Last Update25 July, 2026 17:50 PM Kuwait relies on desalination for around 90 percent of its water needs. [Getty] For Kuwait, the recent collapse of the US-Iran peace deal has ushered in an altogether more dangerous phase of the five-month war. On four of the past eight days, Iran has taken aim at the country's most critical infrastructure: its desalination plants. While this isn't the first time Tehran has targeted the country's water supply, the intensity of the latest attacks indicates a more concerted attempt to weaken the systems upon which Kuwait's five million people depend for almost all of their water. Life and death Kuwait is one of the most water-insecure countries in the world and relies on the sea to provide around 90 percent of its supply. The country has a network of eight desalination plants that produce potable water for domestic consumption, agriculture and industry. Together, these plants produce about 460-500 million imperial gallons of fresh water every day but can rise to 640 million gallons to handle peak consumption in the summer, which is among the highest in the world. Desalination is also highly energy-intensive, which is not usually a problem for oil-rich Kuwait but has threatened to become an issue since Iran began targeting the country's power plants. Kuwait is not alone in the region in having to confront water scarcity. All six Gulf states suffer from various levels of water stress and rely on desalination to different degrees. Together, the Gulf nations operate hundreds of desalination plants, producing as much as 40 percent of the world's desalinated water. These plants have been key to the economic transformation of the region, enabling sprawling urban developments, luxury tourist destinations and AI data centres to spring up from the barren desert. More importantly, they are critical to meeting the countries' basic needs and preventing terminal water shortages. Put simply: desalination is the difference between life and death. Significant damage Kuwait's electricity ministry has confirmed each of the attacks, which it said triggered fires and caused damage to the facilities. Authorities have not provided information about the extent of the damage or which plants were struck. Satellite imagery dated 18 July showed plumes of black smoke rising from the Sabiya power and desalination plant, which produces 100 million imperial gallons of water a day. The day before, Iran claimed to have hit the Zour south power and water plant. The government has appealed to the public to reduce its energy consumption as attacks on power plants threaten to trigger electricity shortages. Iran has invoked 'an eye for an eye' to justify targeting civilian infrastructure, citing several US attacks on its own desalination plants. It has also singled out Kuwait for particularly intense strikes by accusing it of allowing US forces to stage attacks from its soil. Attacking desalination plants is illegal under international law because they provide functions that are indispensable to the survival of a civilian population. Plan B Kuwait has created for itself a vital buffer in case of an emergency by building one of the region's largest water storage systems. These strategic reserves currently hold around 4.8 billion imperial gallons of water, which the government plans to significantly increase this in the coming years. How long this would last would depend on the extent of the damage and how stringently water is rationed. In the worst-case scenario where water production falls to zero, the reserves would last less than two weeks. The government says this could stretch to as long as four months under extreme rationing. Authorities have set about fixing the plants, though repairs could take weeks or even months depending on the extent of the damage. Related Articles