Already a subscriber? Make sure to log into your account before viewing this content. You can access your account by hitting the “login” button on the top right corner. Still unable to see the content after signing in? Make sure your card on file is up-to-date.

Kuwait has accused Iran of carrying out a series of drone strikes on key critical infrastructure over the last 48 hours.

Getting into it: According to Kuwaiti officials, the strikes targeted a wide range of high-value infrastructure across the country, particularly in the energy and utilities sectors. The attacks caused fires, structural damage, and disruptions to both power generation and water production. Locations impacted include:

• Shuwaikh oil sector complex
• Kuwait Petroleum Corporation operating facilities
• Central government ministries compound
• Power and water desalination plants

The targeting of desalination infrastructure has triggered serious concern, given how essential these facilities are across Kuwait and the wider Gulf. In a region with minimal natural freshwater resources, desalination plants provide the vast majority of potable water, making them as strategically critical as oil installations. Damage to even a small number of these plants risks disrupting water access for large populations, especially if attacks continue or expand.

Beyond Kuwait, similar patterns of disruption have been reported across neighboring Gulf states. In the United Arab Emirates, intercepted drones and missiles resulted in falling debris that ignited fires at major industrial sites, including locations in Ruwais as well as the Habshan gas processing complex. In Bahrain, one strike triggered a fire at a fuel storage tank within an energy facility.

The Iranian government has acknowledged some of the strikes, with its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying it targeted petrochemical and energy facilities in Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain as part of a broader retaliatory campaign against US and Israeli actions.

The attacks come amid rapidly escalating rhetoric between the US and Iran. President Trump has issued a new ultimatum threatening strikes on Iran’s own critical infrastructure, including power plants, if Iranian officials fail to agree to a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz.

In response, Iranian officials have warned they would retaliate by expanding attacks on critical infrastructure across the Gulf.