United States President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s energy infrastructure, including its desalination plants, if a deal to end the war is not reached and key shipping routes are not reopened. Analysts warn that while such strikes would be significant, the greater danger may lie in how Iran could retaliate against desalination facilities in Gulf Arab states that rely heavily on them for drinking water.

Hundreds of desalination plants line the Persian Gulf, supplying most of the potable water for countries such as Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Major cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha depend on these facilities to sustain their populations. Experts caution that damaging even part of a plant’s complex system could disrupt water supplies for millions, creating cascading failures across interconnected networks.

Human rights researchers and water security specialists stress that desalination plants are critical civilian infrastructure and that intentionally targeting them could constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law. A 2010 analysis by the Central Intelligence Agency warned that prolonged outages at key Gulf facilities could trigger national crises, with recovery taking months if vital equipment were destroyed.

The risks are heightened by ongoing drought, climate pressures and the region’s dependence on energy-intensive desalination. Past conflicts, including Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and recent attacks by Iran-backed forces in Yemen, have shown how vulnerable such facilities are. As fighting escalates, experts warn that targeting water infrastructure could have devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences across the Middle East.