LIVE: Trump Proposes Peaceful Resolution to Conflict, Avoiding Reopening of Strait of Hormuz

Iranian media outlets have reported that a desalination facility on Qeshm Island has been rendered inoperative due to airstrikes. However, the exact timing of the attack remains unspecified in the reports.

This development follows recent statements from Donald Trump, who threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure, including oil wells and potentially all desalination plants, in a speech delivered yesterday.

The conflict, which began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, has seen multiple assaults on desalination plants. These facilities have become focal points in the escalating hostilities.

On March 8, Bahrain accused Iran of striking a facility, which appeared to be a counteraction following a US operation on Qeshm just the previous day.

Additionally, Kuwait has reported an attack by Iran on a combined desalination and power plant earlier this week. Tehran, however, has attributed responsibility for this incident to Israel.

The Middle East is among the driest regions in the world, with many countries dependent on desalination plants for domestic and industrial water supplies.

Desalinated water provides 42 percent of drinking water in the United Arab Emirates, 70 percent in Saudi Arabia, 86 percent in Oman and 90 percent in Kuwait, according to a 2022 report from the French Institute of International Relations think tank.