Iranian strikes expand to UAE desalination and power plants as IRGC declares restraint ended; water security crisis spreads across Gulf amid tit-for-tat escalation
April 7th, 2026: IRGC launches barrage at UAE, declares restraint ended on civilian infrastructureNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Since February 28, the US-Iran war has expanded to include critical water infrastructure. On March 8, Iran struck a Bahrain desalination plant.
April attacks escalated. April 3 hit Kuwait power and desalination plants plus the Mina al-Ahmadi refinery, April 5 hit Kuwait power-desalination plants and Bahrain's Bapco oil storage, and April 7 hit UAE air defenses and infrastructure. On April 7, the IRGC declared its prior restraint on targeting oil infrastructure and civilian sites in Gulf states 'no longer applies,' following a US strike on Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub.
Gulf states depend on desalination for survival, with Bahrain sourcing 60 percent of its water from such plants and the region holding 60 percent of global desalination capacity. Iran's attacks on power-desalination complexes essential for water production across Bahrain, Kuwait, and the UAE risk an imminent humanitarian crisis in the world's most water-scarce region, especially with the IRGC's declaration ending restraint. Tit-for-tat strikes are broadening to civilian essentials with no diplomatic off-ramp visible.
Why it matters
Repeated water infrastructure hits threaten to collapse Gulf civilian water supplies and risk humanitarian crisis, while oil facility damage risks spiking global energy prices.
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Al Hidd - Kingdom of Bahrain | Veolia Water Technologies
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"How very modern of civilisation — having exhausted its talent for killing men, it has turned its genius upon the water they drink. One can always trust great powers to eventually make thirst itself a weapon; it requires so little imagination, and diplomacy requires so very much."
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Iran's parallel military force responsible for missile and drone operations, now leading retaliatory attacks across the Gulf after losing two consecutive commanders in the opening days of the war.
Bahrain's armed forces have intercepted over 220 Iranian projectiles since the war began while defending a country that hosts the US Fifth Fleet headquarters.
The government authority responsible for Bahrain's water supply, which confirmed the desalination plant was damaged but said national water supplies were unaffected.
February 2026 April 2026
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired 12 ballistic missiles, 2 cruise missiles, and 19 drones at the United Arab Emirates, with UAE air defenses engaging all projectiles. The IRGC declared that its prior restraint in targeting oil infrastructure and civilian sites in Gulf states 'no longer applies,' following a US strike on Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub earlier that day. This marks the first direct Iranian strike on UAE territory and an explicit end to self-imposed targeting limitations.
Iranian drones targeted Kuwait Petroleum Corporation's Shuwaikh complex, two power and water desalination plants—causing significant losses and shutdowns of electricity units—and Bahrain's Bapco Energies oil storage facility, with fires contained. Kuwaiti oil exports remain halted amid Strait blockade.
Iran escalated attacks on Gulf water infrastructure with drone and missile strikes damaging a Kuwait power and desalination plant, alongside fires at the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery. This follows the March 8 Bahrain desalination hit, broadening the pattern of civilian target strikes.
An Iranian drone damaged a water desalination plant in Bahrain—the first confirmed attack on water infrastructure in a Gulf state during the war. Three people were injured. A university building in northern Bahrain was also hit by fragments of a separate missile. Bahrain's water authority said supplies were unaffected.
President Pezeshkian apologized on state television for Iranian strikes hitting Gulf neighbors, pledging to halt attacks on neighboring countries unless they hosted operations against Iran. He rejected President Trump's demand for unconditional surrender as 'a dream.'
A US airstrike hit a water desalination facility on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, cutting freshwater supply to 30 villages. Iran's Foreign Minister called it 'a blatant and desperate crime.'
Iranian missiles struck near the Israeli embassy compound in Bahrain, expanding the target set beyond US military installations to diplomatic facilities.
An attack on Mina Salman Port in Bahrain killed a shipyard worker and set the American oil tanker MT Stena Imperative ablaze. The same day, an Iranian missile struck the Bapco oil refinery on Sitra Island, sparking a fire.
The Revolutionary Guard announced the strait was closed to all shipping, threatening any vessel that attempted passage. Tanker traffic dropped by roughly 70 percent, disrupting about 20 percent of the world's daily oil supply.
An Iranian drone struck a makeshift operations center at Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, killing six US service members—four identified as Army Reserve logistics personnel. This was the deadliest single attack on US forces during the conflict.
Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion begin with over 900 strikes in the first 12 hours. Supreme Leader Khamenei is killed in an Israeli strike on his bunker.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launches missiles and drones at the US Naval Support Activity in Manama, marking the first direct Iranian strike on Bahraini territory. The IRGC reports attacking 27 US bases across the region.
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Coalition bombing in the 1991 Gulf War destroyed 11 of Iraq's 20 major power stations, reducing electricity to 4 percent of pre-war levels. Because water treatment and pumping depend on electricity, nearly all major water systems failed. Approximately 500,000 tonnes of raw sewage entered Iraqi waterways daily for a decade.
A post-war survey in August 1991 found 47,000 children under five had died, primarily from waterborne diseases like dysentery and cholera. Only 40 percent of water infrastructure was rebuilt before the 2003 invasion.
The humanitarian toll shaped international humanitarian law debates for decades and is frequently cited in arguments for stronger protections of civilian infrastructure under the Geneva Conventions.
The 1991 precedent shows how quickly water infrastructure damage cascades into mass civilian harm—even when the infrastructure itself is not directly targeted but loses power. Gulf desalination plants face the same vulnerability: they require continuous electricity to operate.
Turkey and Turkish-backed forces seized the Alouk water station near Ras al-Ain during their 2019 offensive into northeast Syria. The station serves 460,000 to one million people. Over the following years, Turkey cut water supply from the station at least 40 times in eight months, prompting accusations of weaponizing water for political leverage.
Communities were forced onto expensive, unregulated water trucks. Cholera outbreaks followed in September 2022. Human Rights Watch characterized the disruptions as potential violations of international law.
The Alouk case became a reference point for how water infrastructure can be used as a coercive tool in conflicts without ever being physically destroyed—simply controlling the valve is enough.
The Alouk precedent illustrates that water infrastructure does not need to be demolished to cause harm—even partial disruption or the credible threat of targeting can force populations into crisis. Gulf desalination plants, concentrated and exposed, face a similar coercive dynamic.
At least 128 documented attacks on water systems occurred during the Yemen conflict, including strikes on the main water supply to Hodeidah, a port city handling 70 percent of Yemen's imports. Coalition airstrikes damaged hospitals serving as cholera treatment centers, and the destruction of water infrastructure contributed to one of the largest cholera outbreaks in modern history.
Cholera cases surged from 2015 to 2017, with over one million suspected cases reported. The World Health Organization declared Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Yemen demonstrated that water infrastructure attacks in arid regions produce compounding effects: damaged water systems lead to disease outbreaks, which overwhelm damaged health systems, creating cascading failure.
Yemen proved that targeting water infrastructure in water-scarce regions produces humanitarian consequences far exceeding the immediate physical damage. The Gulf states—even wealthier and more technologically advanced than Yemen—face similar physics: no desalination means no water, regardless of wealth.