Bloomberg: Water, Not Oil, Emerges as Middle East’s Most Strategic Resource

DID Press: Bloomberg reports, citing assessments from the CIA, that the Middle East’s most strategic commodity is not oil, but water—a vital resource that could become a key geopolitical factor in any escalation between the U.S. and Iran.

Despite abundant oil and gas reserves, Gulf countries face severe freshwater shortages. Since the 1970s, they have relied on oil revenues to build hundreds of desalination plants. Today, about 450 desalination facilities operate across the region, supplying most drinking water in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Oman—infrastructures the CIA describes as highly vulnerable.

In the UAE, 42% of drinking water comes from desalination; in Saudi Arabia, 70%; in Oman, 86%; and in Kuwait, nearly 90%. Major cities like Dubai and Riyadh are entirely dependent on these plants.

Although international law affords desalination facilities special protection, past Middle East conflicts show that such rules are often ignored during war.

Bloomberg warns that water could become one of the region’s most sensitive and decisive security issues if hostilities escalate.