U.S. President Donald Trump said he could target Iran’s desalination plants, among other infrastructure, with experts warning such a move could cause water shortages in the Middle East.
Posting on Truth Social, Mr Trump said « great progress has been made [to reach a deal with Iran] but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business’, we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched’. »
This « will be in retribution for our many soldiers, and others, that Iran has butchered and killed over the old Regime’s 47 year ‘Reign of Terror,' » Mr Trump also added.
Analysts are now warning that an Iranian retaliation could wreak havoc. Iran relies on desalination for a small share of its water supply while Gulf Arab states depend on it for the vast majority, AP reported.
Desalination plants are based on the Persian Gulf coast, and guarantee water to millions of people who could be reached by Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities — such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates or Doha, Qatar’s capital — could not sustain their current populations, AP also said.
“Desalination facilities are oftentimes necessary for the survival of the civilian population and intentional destruction of those types of facilities is a war crime,” Niku Jafarnia, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told the agency.
The Iranian Parliament’s Security Commission has approved a plan to impose tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, hours after Donald Trump issued a new blistering threat to the country. On Monday, a member of the National Security Commission announced the plan had been given the go-ahead.
The plan includes eight key points, the news agency Fars, often described as close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reports. Among other provisions are named the « safety of naval vessels », environmental issues and the prohibition from passage of US and Israeli vessels. The plan also include a toll system and the enforcement of Iran’s sovereign role in the area.
Iran’s demands included, for the first time, the recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz – a key waterway that sees the passage of around 20% of the world’s oil supply as well as a significant portion of liquefied natural gas.
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