by Frida Garzagrist
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Last week, the Israel-US war in Iran entered a new phase, following escalating attacks on critical energy and water facilities. “Now the war on infrastructure has begun,” said Kaveh Madani, a water researcher at the United Nations University and a former deputy vice president of Iran.
On March 18, Israel struck Iran’s South Pars gas field, the world’s largest natural gas field. Iran is heavily dependent on South Persia for its energy supplies; By some approximation, the field accounts for It consumes 90 percent of the country’s internal energy.
The attack on South Pars triggered retaliatory attacks from Iran on energy installations throughout the region, including an air strike. Did enough damage Near Ras Lafan, is an expansive liquefied natural gas, or LNG, facility for Qatar – the world’s largest LNG export hub. About one-fifth of the world’s LNG supply comes from these plants. According to Bloomberg. Qatar’s energy minister said that there may be damage Three to five years to repair.
This escalation of hostilities has added further pressure to an already fraught situation affecting the Persian Gulf energy industry, with ramifications both regionally and globally. The price of Brent crude, considered the global benchmark for crude oil prices, rose after the South Pars attack, reaching around $120 a barrel. It has fallen slightly since then, to just under $100 per barrel.
But another casualty of attacks on infrastructure is water security. Before oil and gas facilities became war targets, Water treatment plant Hit the bay. In regions with scarce freshwater, these plants provide millions of people with clean drinking water — esp Qatar, Bahrain and KuwaitWhere about half or more of their total water supply comes from desalination.
There is a risk of future loss of these core operations in the Arabian Peninsula. Over the weekend, following attacks on oil and gas facilities, President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to Iran: reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or the United States will destroy the country’s power plants. In response, Iran has threatened Destruction of power and water systems across the bay If Trump is after Iran’s power. Although talks between the United States and Iran appear to be going on behind closed doors, on Wednesday, March 25, Iranian officials Rejected Trump’s proposal for a cease-fire deal.
With no indication of how long the war might last, the situation in Iran and across the Gulf could deteriorate. Iran is no stranger to water scarcity – the country has a history of water challenges that both fuel social unrest in urban areas as well as clashes between farmers in more rural settings. Iran is already one of the worst because of its arid climate, poor water management practices and rapid population growth Most water stressed country The country has been facing an unprecedented climate-inflicted drought for the last six years in the world. This limited rainfall has clashed with Iran’s legacy of over-pumping from aquifers and reservoirs.
This means that the country is now in such a stateWater is bankrupt“A concept that Madani coined about 10 years ago to describe how Iran’s unregulated water use is outstripping its dwindling water resources.
In general, however, Iran is much less vulnerable to attacks on desalination plants than other Gulf states. Most of these countries “have a very small number of very important desalination plants and they can be damaged very easily,” said Peter Glick, co-founder and senior fellow at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California. “It’s a serious concern. … They don’t have long-term storage. There’s no big reservoir. There’s no alternative.”
However, this does not mean that Iran is completely immune to attacks on its water security – which could impact its food security. Only a small part of Iran’s water supply comes from desalination plants. But a strike at its power plants would actually disrupt the country’s water supply, Madani said. Due to lack of electricity, the water treatment plant cannot operate.
If ships and oil tankers were hit in the Gulf, the pollution (such as oil spills) from those attacks could derail Iran’s fisheries and aquaculture — though that hasn’t happened yet, said David Michel, a senior fellow in the Global Food and Water Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. On the ground, food producers face other potential challenges: When drones or missiles hit certain facilities in Iran — such as weapons factories, some of which are close to farms — the explosions that result from those attacks often contain PFASpropellants, and other toxic chemicals. These substances can leach into surrounding agricultural soils, creating problems for both farmers and consumers.
The economic impact of war may also affect farmers indirectly. Dr. from March 3 in the state All food and agricultural exports are banned Michel said it looked like an attempt to bolster the domestic food supply during the war. But it “distorts incentives for production and consumption,” he added, “and it will affect the agricultural system and food security,” potentially leading to higher inflation on food prices, which was a burden for Iranians before the current conflict.
Madani and other experts have argued that to rehabilitate its water system, Iran needs to shift agricultural production from specialty crops like pistachios to staple crops like wheat and other grains. Currently, Iran imports significant quantities of this cereal. Glick added that if the country’s water spending continues to outstrip its water resources, Iran may become more dependent on desalination plants in the future, which would have its own knock-on effects. For example, Glick said, “then you have to spend energy to move that water to big cities.”
Like climate change, the Gulf War has increased pressure on Iran’s water and agricultural systems, Madani said. “If your system is already dysfunctional, it becomes more difficult during wartime,” he said. He agrees that positive change is possible, but unlikely in the short term – as long as hostilities continue. “During war, all you think about is survival.”
This article originally appeared on grist A https://grist.org/food-and-agriculture/iran-was-already-running-out-of-water-then-came-the-war-on-infrastructure/.
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This is the story Originally published by grist.
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