A Kuwaiti power and desalination plant was attacked by Iran on Sunday for the second consecutive day, Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said.
On Saturday, an Iranian provincial official said a US missile attack also damaged a desalination plant in the country. CNN has reached out to the US military for a response.
The plants, which convert seawater into drinking water, are vital in the Middle East, providing a key lifeline and sustaining certain remote regions through droughts. Some countries in the region are almost entirely dependent on desalination for drinking water.
In Kuwait and Oman, desalination accounts for around 90% of freshwater needs. In Bahrain, it’s 85%, and in Saudi Arabia around 70%. Major Gulf cities, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait City and Jeddah, are almost wholly dependent on desalinated water.
Iran is less dependent on desalination than its Gulf neighbors for drinking water. Still, the process is key for providing water to coastal and island communities and to help to offset droughts.
Desalination plants were also targeted when the current conflict began in March. At the time, the World Water Council — a UN-affiliated organization which advocates for global water security — condemned the attacks and called on all parties “to fully respect their obligations under international law.”
In a statement, it pointed to an article of the Geneva Convention which prohibits combatants from attacking essential resources for civilians’ survival “such as drinking water installations and supplies.”
CNN’s Catherine Nicholls contributed to this reporting.
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