Holding Water Hostage

Countries in the Middle East, especially around the Persian Gulf, rely heavily on desalinated water, making this infrastructure a key vulnerability in times of war. A hypothetical conflict scenario involves attacks on desalination facilities, with reports of a U.S. strike damaging a plant in Iran and an Iranian drone hitting one in Bahrain. Both Iran and the U.S. have threatened to destroy each other's desalination plants, demonstrating that crucial water infrastructure is at risk. This situation highlights a global vulnerability, prompting experts to consider the types of risks countries with desalination plants face and how they should prepare.