Water and energy sites hit as U.S.-Iran strikes escalate

Iran warWater and energy sites hit as U.S.-Iran strikes escalateKuwait reported “severe damage” and advised civilians to ration power after Iranian attacks on water and power infrastructure.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleGas prices rise as U.S. and Iran escalate attacks01:18Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 18, 2026, 8:58 AM EDTBy Mithil AggarwalCritical water and power infrastructure sites have been damaged as the U.S. and Iran continue to trade strikes, while the parched Middle East reels from temperatures of 100 degrees and beyond.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Inside Iran, some 10,000 people in 20 villages faced a disrupted water supply on Saturday after the U.S. hit a desalination plant in the Bonji village on the Iranian coast, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, quoting the water company’s chief executive. “As a result of the attack, the supply of drinking water to several villages in western Jask County has been disrupted,” the Embassy of Iran in India said in a post on X, describing the attack as a war crime.Iran’s own strikes, primarily aimed at U.S. allies in the region, have repeatedly hit Kuwait this week. The country’s energy ministry on Saturday urged civilians to ration power usage during peak hours after a strike on a power and water desalination plant, causing a fire — the second such attack in two days.Kuwait’s Petroleum Corporation said Saturday that Iran targeted one of its vital sites, causing several injuries and “significant material losses.” Kuwaiti defense ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Saud Al-Otaibi said Saturday there was “severe damage” from strikes on oil and electricity facilities. The country’s foreign ministry meanwhile said that Iran’s targeting of “vital facilities” revealed a “systematic and aggressive approach aimed at civilian targets.”Energy rationing could prove especially brutal...