US strikes against Iran that began on Tuesday night damaged two water reservoirs in Sirik county in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, cutting off water supplies to 20,000 Iranians amid sweltering heat, Iranian media has reported.
“Unfortunately, following this attack, 20,000 residents of the region have lost access to safe drinking water, and with temperatures ranging between 45 and 50 [degrees Celsius], conditions have become extremely difficult and critical for local inhabitants,” Iranian state TV reported, quoting local water officials, according to AFP.
“The destruction of these reservoirs has created a major problem for the region’s water supply network,” the report added.
According to Iran’s PressTV, Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, a local water official, said the strikes damaged two concrete reservoirs, with capacities of 500 and 2,000 cubic meters, along with their associated mechanical equipment. Hamzehpour accused the US of deliberately targeting the water infrastructure and called it “flagrant terrorism.”
The New York Times reported that it asked US Central Command about the allegations but that it declined to comment. In its statements on the US strikes against Iran, which appeared to be the heaviest since the ceasefire was reached in early April, CENTCOM said it targeted “Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.”
President Trump on Wednesday threatened to bomb civilian infrastructure in Iran, saying that he was “getting closer to the targeting of Iranian power plants and bridges.” During the full-scale US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, he also threatened to “blow up” Iran’s desalination plants, and at least one plant was hit in Iran earlier in the war. Deliberate targeting of water supplies is a clear war crime under international law.
