US Strike Cuts Off Water Supply for Thousands of Iranians

Thousands of Iranians in the southern port city of Sirik have lost access to drinking water after the latest United States strike hit two reservoirs in the area. The US military this week launched air strikes against cities in southern Iran, such as Jask and Sirik, as well as Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz waters. Washington described its strikes as ‘self-defence’ in response to the shooting down of an Apache helicopter, operated by the US military, by Iran in the Gulf waters. Authorities in Tehran reported that the US strikes caused damage to two reservoirs supplying water to the Bemani and Kouhestak areas in Sirik city. ‘Unfortunately, with these strikes, 20,000 residents in the region have lost access to safe drinking water, and with temperatures between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius, the conditions have become extremely difficult and critical for local residents,’ said officials from the local water company, as broadcast by Iranian state television. ‘The damage to these reservoirs has created a major problem for the water supply network in the region,’ the officials stated, emphasising that the area lacks groundwater to replace the damaged reservoir supply. Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, a senior official of the water company in Hormozgan Province, where Sirik is located, said that efforts are underway to find alternatives for the villages affected by the incident. Iran condemned the US strike as one launched ‘under false pretexts’. Tehran retaliated with a wave of missile and drone attacks against US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait.