An Iranian provincial water official says a U.S. strike damaged desalination equipment in Jask county, cutting drinking water to 20 villages and adding a civilian infrastructure concern to the widening U.S.-Iran crisis.
Middle East Eye reported that Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, head of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, said nearly 10,000 people were affected after strikes damaged water desalination pumps in coastal Bunji village, in Iran's Jask county.
Dawn reported the same Tasnim-sourced account, saying Hamzehpour claimed a seawater pumping station and a power transformer at the Bunji desalination plant were completely destroyed. The claim has not been independently verified, and U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed a strike on the desalination plant.
Why The Water Claim Matters
The report shifts the latest round of fighting from ports, bridges, ships, and military sites into basic services. In southern Iran, small coastal communities rely heavily on desalination and pumping infrastructure, so even a localized hit can quickly become a public health and humanitarian problem.
The timing also matters. Reuters, via Internazionale, reported that U.S. Central Command said it completed a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran, hitting surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.
The Hindu reported that U.S. and Iranian attacks continued across West Asia on Saturday as the battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified. Kuwait also said an Iranian attack hit a power generation and water desalination station, while Bahrain reported air sirens during the latest exchange.
What Is Still Unclear
The central unanswered question is whether the Bunji desalination equipment was intentionally targeted, hit by spillover damage, or damaged during a strike on nearby military infrastructure. The available English-language reports cite Iranian officials and state-linked media for the water disruption, while U.S. statements have described broader military targets rather than confirming this specific site.
That uncertainty is important because both sides are now accusing the other of striking infrastructure needed by civilians. Iran says the Jask damage affected drinking water. Gulf states say Iranian strikes have hit water and power facilities. Each new infrastructure incident raises the risk that the crisis moves beyond military coercion into wider civilian disruption.
The Bottom Line
The Jask water claim is not fully verified, but it is a genuinely new angle in the crisis. If the reported disruption holds, the latest U.S.-Iran exchange is no longer just about ships and strike targets. It is also hitting the systems that keep coastal communities supplied with water.