An aerial view of the island of Qeshm, separated from the Iranian mainland by the Clarence Strait. File
| Picture Credit score: Reuters
Iranian media mentioned on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) airstrikes have put a desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm island within the strategic Strait of Hormuz out of service, although the report didn’t specify when the assault happened.
Iran-Israel conflict: Comply with LIVE updates on March 31, 2026
“One of many desalination crops on Qeshm Island was focused… and is now fully out of service, as it isn’t potential to restore it within the brief time period,” the ISNA information company reported, quoting Well being Ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.
Iran’s International Minister Abbas Araghchi had mentioned a strike had taken place there on March 7, accusing the U.S. of a “blatant and determined crime” launched from its navy base in Bahrain.
Qeshm is the most important Iranian island within the Gulf, stretching for round 100 km throughout the Strait of Hormuz.
It has turn into a preferred vacationer vacation spot lately for Iranians due to its uncommon UNESCO-listed rock formations and turquoise waters, however can also be closely militarised, analysts say.
There have been a number of assaults on desalination crops within the ongoing conflict, sparked by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Bahrain reported an Iranian strike on a facility on March 8, obvious retaliation for the U.S. hit on Qeshm the day earlier than.
Kuwait reported an Iranian assault on a desalination and electrical energy plant on Monday (March 30, 2026), which Tehran blamed on Israel.
West Asia is among the many driest areas on the earth, with many international locations depending on desalination crops for home and industrial water provides.
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Monday (March 30, 2026) to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure, oil wells and “probably all desalinization crops.”
That may doubtless draw a tit-for-tat response from Tehran that might escalate the battle dramatically.
Desalinated water supplies 42% of ingesting water within the United Arab Emirates, 70% in Saudi Arabia, 86% in Oman and 90% in Kuwait, in accordance with a 2022 report from the French Institute of Worldwide Relations assume tank.
Some analysts have warned that Gulf states would see an assault on their vital water infrastructure as a cause to enter the conflict instantly in opposition to Iran.
They’ve up to now remained on the sidelines of the battle, sustaining injury from Iranian assaults whereas internet hosting U.S. bases used for operations in opposition to the Islamic republic.
Printed – March 31, 2026 05:13 pm IST