Targeting Desalination: Iran’s Strategic Threat to Middle East Survival
What happens when a country at war decides to attack not soldiers, but the basic things people need to survive? That is exactly the fear right now as the Iran-America war keeps getting worse day by day.
We all know that bombs and missiles are dangerous. But what many common people do not realise is that modern wars are not just fought on battlefields anymore. They can be fought by cutting off your drinking water, shutting down your banks, or crashing your airport systems. And that is the terrifying direction this war may be heading.
Let us understand this simply. After America and Israel launched massive air strikes on Iran, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the very first attack, Iran hit back hard. It fired hundreds of missiles and drones at nine countries. It killed American soldiers, British troops were narrowly saved, and civilians in Israel and Gulf nations lost their lives. Iran even attacked a British airbase in Cyprus. So the war has already crossed many borders.
But here is the really scary part. Iran may now go after something much more dangerous — water desalination plants. Now, you might ask, what is a desalination plant? In simple words, it is a factory that takes salty sea water and converts it into clean drinking water. In the Middle East, where there is very little natural fresh water, these plants are like lifelines. Without them, millions of people would have nothing to drink.
Just imagine how serious this is. Kuwait gets almost all its drinking water — 90 percent — from desalination. Oman is not far behind at 86 percent. Even a massive country like Saudi Arabia depends on these plants for 70 percent of its water, and the UAE for 42 percent. Now picture what happens if Iran fires missiles at these plants. Entire cities could run out of drinking water within days. According to leaked American diplomatic messages from 2009, if just one major plant in Saudi Arabia was destroyed, the country might have to evacuate its own capital city Riyadh within just one week. One week. That is how serious it is. And these plants are easy targets. They are big, they sit out in the open, and they cannot be hidden or moved. A few well-aimed missiles, and lakhs of families could be left without water.
But water is not the only weapon Iran might use. There is another kind of attack that most people do not even think about — cyber attacks. You see, in today's world, almost everything runs on computers. Your bank, your hospital, your airport, your electricity supply, your government offices — all of them depend on computer systems and the internet. A cyber attack means someone sitting thousands of kilometres away can crash all these systems without firing a single bullet.
Iran has done this before. In 2012, it carried out a massive cyber attack against Saudi Arabia's oil giant Aramco and Qatar's RasGas. Those attacks caused serious damage to their computer networks. Now, groups linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards have already threatened to do this again. A man named John Hultquist, who works with Google's threat intelligence team, has confirmed that these groups are getting ready.
One common type of cyber attack is called a "denial of service" attack. Think of it like this — imagine a narrow road that can handle only 100 cars at a time. Now someone sends 10,000 cars onto that road all at once. What happens? The road gets completely jammed and nobody can move. That is exactly what hackers do to websites and computer systems. They flood them with so many fake requests that the system crashes. Banks stop working. Airport screens go blank. Power grids fail. All without a single bomb being dropped.
This is what makes this war different from any war we have seen before. It is not just about armies and tanks anymore. It is about attacking the basic systems that keep normal life running — water, electricity, internet, banking. The common man sitting in Dubai or Riyadh or Doha, who has nothing to do with this war, could suddenly find his tap running dry or his bank account frozen.
Wars in the Middle East have always pulled many nations in. But this one has missiles flying in more directions and across more borders than ever before. And if Iran decides to go after water plants and computer systems, the real victims will not be soldiers. They will be ordinary families just trying to live their daily lives.
That is the bitter truth of modern warfare. The battlefield is no longer far away. It is right inside your home.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
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'What gave US, Israel right to do this': J-K CM Omar Abdullah condemns killing of Khamenei
Jammu (PTI): Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday condemned the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and called on the people of Jammu and Kashmir to exercise restraint, not let their emotions control them and express their anger and grief through lawful and peaceful means.
"The people of Iran must be the ones to decide their own leadership, without external interference. I condemn the killing of Khamenei and his family. What law gave America and Israel the right to do this? I also urge the people of Jammu and Kashmir not to let the situation worsen," Abdullah told reporters.
Referring to the recent violence that has gripped the Valley in the wake of Khamenei's death, Abdullah said that if there was any excessive use of force or misuse of power by the police or central paramilitary forces that resulted in injuries, it would be understandable for the people to feel intense emotions.
"I request the people of Jammu and Kashmir not to allow the situation to deteriorate. Some people are trying to spoil the atmosphere, and reports of incidents are coming in from certain places. I do not want any misuse of force by the police or the central paramilitary forces here, resulting in people getting injured or, God forbid, anyone losing their life. That would be deeply unfortunate," the chief minister said.
Asserting that he understood the public sentiment, he added, "I can understand their emotions, because how can one not feel angry? But in such circumstances, it is most important to control emotions."
He appealed to the community and to religious leaders to guide people towards maintaining peace. "You have every right to express your anger, resentment and your faith, but you must keep the law in mind. Please do not take the law into your own hands," he said.
Abdullah emphasised that if protests are held, they should be conducted sensitively to ensure the safety of other citizens. "We have to ensure that the lives of other citizens are safeguarded. Some permissions were granted, while some were later not approved," he said.
He further noted that reports of stone-pelting had emerged from certain places since Monday, and in one instance, there was an attempt to assault a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). "Because of such incidents, the government is compelled to take stricter measures. Our effort will be to ensure that, as soon as possible, people are given the freedom to carry out their activities properly and peacefully," he said.
Regarding the situation of Indians in Iran, Abdullah said that the Jammu and Kashmir government was in close coordination with the Ministry of External Affairs. "Most of our students and other people who are in Iran have been moved to safe areas. Some of our final-year students who are in hospitals are not agreeing to leave," he said.
He urged them to follow official advisories. "I sincerely request them to follow the embassy's guidelines, advice and recommendations. If the embassy says we should move to a safe area, then we should go to a safe area," he said.
Concerning the prevailing international situation, the chief minister said that no country has the right under law to carry out attacks on others. "If what Russia did in Ukraine is considered right, and what other countries have done is also considered right, then if India wishes to act against a neighbouring country, that too would be considered right," he said, cautioning against such justifications.
He described the ongoing conflict involving Israel, the United States, and Iran as unfortunate, stating, "Israel and America attacking Iran was wrong. But Iran's reaction, targeting places like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, was also wrong. Instead of stopping, the war is spreading further," he said.
Abdullah also mentioned the tensions in the region, highlighting that Pakistan and Afghanistan are already in conflict. "War is not the cure for any problem," the chief minister said, adding that if people in any country are unhappy with their government, that remains a separate internal matter.
