Iran struck Kuwait's power and water plants for the second straight day on Saturday, knocking out multiple electricity generation units and sparking fires at two locations. Kuwait gets roughly 90% of its drinking water from desalination. Iran also launched attacks on US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi declared Iran's Islamabad peace deal — the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire signed in June — officially suspended, saying the US had "violated and suspended all its commitments" by resuming strikes on July 6. Those strikes are now in their seventh consecutive night and have killed at least 50 Iranians, according to Iran's health ministry. One strike hit a desalination plant in Iran's Hormozgan province that had supplied drinking water to 10,000 people; CENTCOM has not confirmed that target.

1. The Strikes Are About Hormuz, the US Says (US / Trump Administration)

Washington says the strikes are about keeping the Strait of Hormuz open — and Iran's civilian casualties come from Iran using dual-use infrastructure.

The US says it started this war to protect Hormuz. It says its strikes are "aimed at protecting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz." Before Iran's blockade, the strait handled about a fifth of global crude oil. Oil has climbed above $86 a barrel since it closed.

CENTCOM says it's hitting military targets. Official statements describe striking "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities" — not civilian water plants. The US has not confirmed the Hormozgan desalination strike.

2. But Iran Says the US Broke the Deal First (Iran / Deputy FM Kazem Gharibabadi)

Tehran's position is that the US invalidated the Islamabad MoU on July 6 — and that Gulf states hosting US bases aren't neutral.

Iran says the US abandoned the ceasefire first. The Islamabad MoU included a commitment to stop strikes. The US resumed them on July 6, and since then US strikes have killed at least 50 Iranians and wounded more than 500, according to Iran's health ministry. One strike hit a water plant in Bonji village, Hormozgan, cutting off 10,000 people from drinking water.

Iran says Kuwait isn't a bystander. The IRGC specifically targeted US military facilities at Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, calling them legitimate targets because Kuwait hosts US forces used to strike Iran. Bahrain hosts the US 5th Fleet; Jordan's Al Azraq base, also struck, is a staging point for US regional operations.

3. But Both Sides Have Now Bombed Water Plants (Oona Hathaway, Yale Law; Human Rights Watch)

International law experts say the Geneva Conventions protect civilian water infrastructure — and both sides have now crossed that line.

Nearby military bases don't make water plants legal targets. Human Rights Watch has documented that "infrastructure indispensable to the survival and well-being of the civilian population" — drinking water facilities, power plants, hospitals — must not be attacked under international humanitarian law. The rule holds regardless of what's close by.

US strikes were already facing war-crimes allegations before Iran hit Kuwait's plants. Oona Hathaway of Yale Law, Tom Dannenbaum of Stanford, and over 100 international law scholars signed a letter in April saying US strikes on Iran violate the UN Charter and may constitute war crimes, citing strikes on Iranian water and civilian infrastructure. Iran's two-day attack on Kuwait's desalination plants now exposes Tehran to the same legal scrutiny.

Where This Lands

The US says it's enforcing freedom of navigation in Hormuz and that its targets are military. Iran says the US broke the Islamabad MoU first — including by hitting an Iranian desalination plant — and that it's hitting back at US military bases in Gulf states that chose sides. Legal scholars say both countries have now struck civilian water infrastructure protected under the Geneva Conventions, and with the MoU formally void as of today, no ceasefire mechanism remains to slow either side.

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