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Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said in a statement that a second power generation and water desalination plant caught fire after an Iranian attack on Saturday. The ministry reported that it had taken precautionary operational measures to ensure the safety of the facility and its personnel while maintaining the stability of the country’s electricity grid. Emergency teams coordinated with the Kuwait Fire Force and other relevant authorities to respond to the blaze, and all operational and emergency plans were activated immediately after the incident. The development came as the country continued to face repeated attacks, according to the ministry’s assessment.
The ministry’s statement indicated that on Friday authorities had brought under control a fire at another similar plant after an Iranian attack damaged a large number of electricity generation units. Kuwait has repelled a series of Iranian missile and drone attacks since Thursday, the General Staff of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces reported. Reuters coverage of the events noted that the Saturday incident marked the second attack on Kuwaiti water desalination sites in as many days, with operations at Kuwait International Airport also suspended at times due to the threats. Some military facilities saw personnel wounded in related drone strikes, a Reuters dispatch added.
AP News reported that the strikes hit one of the key sources of drinking water in the small desert nation, exposing broader water vulnerability across the arid Middle East. Desalination infrastructure provides the vast majority of fresh water in Kuwait and similar Gulf states, according to multiple regional analyses published by the news agency in recent months. The attacks have highlighted risks to these critical facilities that supply both power and potable water in an environment where natural freshwater resources remain limited.
In its latest statement the ministry emphasised that technicians were working to assess damage and restore affected generation capacity from the prior incident while keeping overall supply stable. The coordinated response among government bodies helped prevent wider disruptions to essential services, the ministry’s update showed. Kuwaiti authorities urged reduced electricity consumption as repairs continued on the previously damaged units, according to accounts carried by The New York Times.
The incidents form part of an escalating regional conflict in which Iran has targeted infrastructure in Gulf countries perceived as hosting U.S. military facilities, The New York Times reported in its coverage of the seventh consecutive day of related strikes. Bahrain and other states have also reported strikes on similar sites, Reuters figures show. Kuwait’s armed forces stated that they had successfully intercepted many of the incoming threats, though the cumulative effect has strained defensive and civilian infrastructure across the area.
