(SeaPRwire) –   A United Nations official warned Sunday that Iran is ready to launch strikes on key desalination infrastructure across the Middle East within days, a move that would escalate tensions with the U.S. and Israel and spark widespread global economic disruption.

Kaveh Madani, an Iranian scientist and U.N. official, stated that desalination plants throughout the region could be attacked “within the next few days,” creating the risk of a wider regional water crisis and impacting global markets.

The Iranian regime’s strike threats issued Sunday were made in response to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning that the U.S. would target Iranian power infrastructure unless the Strait of Hormuz was reopened within 48 hours.

A spokesperson for the Central Headquarters of Hazrat Khatam al-Anbiya (PBUH) said, “Following previous warnings, if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked by the enemy, all energy, information technology, and desalination infrastructure belonging to the U.S. and the regional regime will be targeted.”

“Desalination plants could be targeted again within the next few days,” Madani told Digital.

“The world’s driest region could see a full-blown water war, and the spillover effects on the global economy, including the U.S., will be both immediate and long-lasting,” Madani said, noting this marks what he called a “new phase in the conflict” that now involves critical civilian infrastructure.

“On top of existing risks, there is the potential for damage to already fragile water infrastructure, including treatment plants, pumping stations, and distribution networks,” he said. “The consequences would be catastrophic and enduring.”

Madani’s warning comes as the conflict, now in its fourth week, has expanded beyond military targets. Desalination facilities, including a plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island and another in Bahrain, have reportedly already been hit.

Desalination, the process of turning seawater into drinkable water, is critical to meeting water demand across Israel and many of Iran’s Gulf neighbors, especially in arid regions where natural freshwater is scarce.

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, echoed the regime’s threats in a Sunday post on X, warning that “critical infrastructure, energy, and oil assets across the region will be destroyed irreversibly, and oil prices will remain elevated for a long time” if Iran’s power plants are attacked.

“When widespread blackouts happen, water treatment and distribution systems will also collapse in parts of the country,” Madani clarified.

“Iran will retaliate by attacking desalination, energy, and other energy-related infrastructure in all regional countries that are parties to the war, including Israel,” he added. “Oil and gas prices will rise further, the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed, and a humanitarian disaster will unfold as millions of people across the region lose access to water and electricity.”

“The U.S. has reportedly already attacked a desalination plant on Qeshm Island, and Iran has reportedly responded by striking a plant in Bahrain,” he said.

“Iran is the least reliant on desalination plants among regional parties, so it is explicitly naming them as legitimate retaliatory targets because this is the biggest vulnerability of the other warring parties across the Middle East,” he added.

Despite this relative advantage, Iran itself has faced years of severe drought, poor water resource management, and declining groundwater levels, leaving large parts of the country increasingly water-stressed.

“If Iranians lose access to water and/or electricity, they will not rise up,” said Holly Dagres, Libitzky Family Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“The unfortunate truth is that the Islamic Republic would rather allow the country to suffer than appear weak while it faces what it sees as an existential threat,” she said.