US strikes destroy water reservoirs in Iran, drawing war crime accusations

US Strikes on Iran Hit Water Facility in Sirik, Raising War Crime Allegations

US airstrikes on Wednesday destroyed two concrete water storage reservoirs in the southern Iranian city of Sirik in Hormozgan Province, temporarily cutting off drinking water to thousands of residents and drawing accusations of war crimes from Iranian officials. The strikes were part of a broader second day of renewed US military operations targeting locations across southern Iran.

Water Infrastructure Targeted Amid Military Campaign

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported that US strikes hit locations in Sirik, Jask, Minab, Qeshm Island, and the port of Bandar Abbas early Wednesday, with the Sirik strikes damaging a telecommunications tower and destroying two water reservoirs in the Kahani district of Sirik County, according to Al Jazeera. Iran’s West Asia News Agency reported that the concrete storage reservoirs were located roughly 1,012 kilometers south of Tehran near the Strait of Hormuz.aljazeera

Deutsche Welle reported that the strikes on two reservoirs near Sirik cut off the water supply to thousands of people in the region. Isa Bozorgzadeh, a spokesperson for Iran’s water industry, labeled the attack on the water reservoirs a war crime, as reported by WANA. International humanitarian law classifies water infrastructure, including drinking-water facilities and pipelines, as civilian property that should not be targeted during armed conflict.dw

The US military said its strikes focused on communications and radar systems but did not immediately comment on the damage to civilian water infrastructure. NPR reported that Iran said US strikes hit two water reservoirs in the southern city of Sirik, temporarily cutting off water to thousands of people.npr

Escalation Threatens Fragile Ceasefire

The strikes came as part of an intensifying exchange of military fire between the United States and Iran. US Central Command said the offensive commenced shortly after midnight Tehran time on Wednesday, targeting “multiple targets in Iran” in response to Iran’s “unjustified and ongoing aggression,” according to the Associated Press. President Trump told a Fox News reporter that the US had launched 49 Tomahawk missiles at various targets within Iran, supplemented by airstrikes from fighter jets.nytimes

Trump warned that while the attacks would be temporarily halted, they would resume Thursday night if Iran failed to yield in negotiations. Iran claimed to have retaliated with two waves of attacks targeting US military installations in Kuwait and Bahrain, though there was no immediate verification.nytimes

Broader Context of Civilian Infrastructure Damage

The incident marks the first reported assault on civilian infrastructure in Iran in several weeks, coinciding with a critical water shortage in the country. Since the war began on February 28, US-Israeli strikes have hit not only military targets but also civilian infrastructure, with Le Monde reporting in March that transportation, industrial, and oil infrastructure had been damaged alongside military facilities. The Iranian Red Crescent has reported that roughly 10,000 civilian structures have been damaged across the country since the conflict began.lemonde

UN Secretary-General António Guterres remarked Wednesday that the proclaimed ceasefire was essentially a “lesser-fire,” given the rising attacks and heated rhetoric over the past 48 hours.nytimes