A service building at a power and water desalination plant in Kuwait has been damaged in an Iranian attack that killed an Indian worker.
A representative for Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said emergency and technical teams responded immediately, activating contingency plans to contain the impact and secure the site, the Kuwait News Agency reported in a post on X.
The representative added that operations across the country’s electricity and water network remain stable.
The incident underscores growing concerns over the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in the Gulf, particularly desalination facilities that supply most of the region’s drinking water.
The attack comes as Iran intensifies strikes on Gulf states despite international condemnation, targeting infrastructure including airports, oil facilities and desalination plants across the region.
Kuwait operates several major integrated power and desalination plants across the country, including facilities at Shuaiba, Doha, Sabiya and Al Zour, which together form the backbone of its utilities network.
Heavy reliance on desalination
The country is heavily reliant on desalination, with about 90 per cent of its drinking water produced from seawater, making such facilities critical to national security and daily life.
The wider region is among the most water-stressed areas of the world. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar rank among the five most water-stressed countries, the World Resources Institute's Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas shows. The Middle East has just 2 per cent of the world’s renewable freshwater. Analysts warn that 100 per cent of the region’s population could face acute water scarcity by 2050.
Desalination is central to survival, with about 5,000 plants across the Middle East producing 41.8 per cent of global capacity, a 2026 study in the npj Clean Water journal said. The report uses data from Global Water Intelligence’s DesalData database, based on figures up to the end of 2023, emphasising the scale of reliance on infrastructure that is now increasingly exposed to attack.
Power and water systems intertwined
Any disruption to these plants can have immediate consequences, because Kuwait has limited natural freshwater reserves and relies on continuous production to meet demand. Across the Gulf, water security is tightly linked to desalination, meaning even partial cuts can quickly affect households and industry.
Analysts have warned that attacks on desalination sites can disrupt water and power supplies, particularly in countries such as Kuwait where co-generation plants produce electricity alongside potable water. This interdependence means damage to auxiliary systems or service buildings could lead to a drop in electricity output and water production, if disruptions intensify.
Analysts also warn that the concentration of desalination capacity in a limited number of large coastal plants increases systemic risk, making the sector particularly exposed to repeated or co-ordinated attacks.
Wider impact
The broader conflict is reverberating through global energy markets. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s chief executive Sheikh Nawaf Al Sabah that Iran is effectively “holding the world economy hostage” as attacks on infrastructure and shipping routes disrupt supplies and push oil prices higher.
Kuwait's Mina Al Ahmadi refinery was struck for a second time on March 20 in Iranian drone strikes, increasing uncertainty in the global energy sector.
Neighbouring Iraq has been particularly affected, with repeated strikes forcing shutdowns of oil production and exports.
Kuwaiti authorities have stressed that, despite the latest incident, essential services remain uninterrupted as efforts continue to safeguard infrastructure. Officials said contingency systems, reserve capacity and co-ordination with security agencies were helping to ensure continuity, even as the regional crisis escalates.
