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From Nuclear Deterrence to Desalination Deterrence
July 27th, 2026
Via the AlJazeera Center for Studies, a report on how desalination plants are emerging as strategic assets in Middle East security, where their vulnerability creates a new form of cross-domain deterrence. The concept of “desalination deterrence” examines how threats to water infrastructure reshape conflict, escalation, and survival calculations. Abstract The recent US-Israel-Iran escalation reveals a […]
Read more »Breaking Afghanistan’s Hydro-Political Trap
June 15th, 2026
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at how – since its neighbors rely on unregulated river flows – any unilateral Afghan attempt to develop water infrastructure is perceived as a threat, risking regional destabilization: Situated at the headwaters of major river systems feeding Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan is the mountainous hydro-hub of Central […]
Read more »Iran’s Water Weapon Against the Gulf
March 28th, 2026
Via Project Syndicate, commentary on how – while the rest of the world is mainly concerned about the energy disruptions caused by the Iran war – the Gulf countries are more anxious about the Islamic Republic’s threats to their desalination facilities: The oil-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf are often described as petrostates. But the […]
Read more »Petrostates and Saltwater Kingdoms: Could Iran Disrupt the Gulf Countries’ Desalinated Water Supplies?
March 21st, 2026
Via CSIS, a look at the risk of Iran’s water to the Gulf’s desalination projects: The economies of the Persian Gulf countries depend on oil and natural gas. Their populations depend on desalinated water. Nature endows the Arabian Peninsula with scant freshwater resources. Consequently, all of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations lining the […]
Read more »Attacks on Middle East Desalination Plants Highlight Risks of Near-Total Dependence on ‘Fossil Fuel Water’
March 15th, 2026
Via Inside Climate News, a look at how the destruction of desalination facilities is a violation of international law that could cause a humanitarian crisis in the most water-scare region on Earth. Powering the plants with electricity from fossil fuels poses additional long-term threats. Recent attacks in the Middle East on desalination plants, facilities that […]
Read more »War Is Pushing Iran’s Water Supply to the Brink of Collapse
March 12th, 2026
Via Bloomberg, a look at how climate-fueled drought and mismanagement have left the country with a severe water shortage, and war only adds to the strain: A bright ball of fire traveled along the Tehran boulevard, so fast that people initially thought it was a drone attack. But the video shows no explosion and, instead, […]
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