TEHRAN -- Iranian officials on Saturday condemned a U.S. military strike on a desalination plant in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province that has disrupted drinking water supplies to approximately 10,000 people across 20 villages, calling the attack a clear violation of international humanitarian law and a war crime.
Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, CEO of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, told media on Saturday that U.S. strikes completely destroyed seawater extraction pumps and an electrical power transformer at the Bunji desalination plant in Jask county. The facility had a production capacity of 3,150 cubic meters per day, providing potable water to villages in the region.
“The operational teams of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company are working to provide emergency water supplies to residents while repairing the damaged facilities to restore drinking water service as quickly as possible,” Hamzehpour said.
Energy Minister Abbas Aliabadi said the attack contradicts humanitarian principles and international legal standards, explicitly violating the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols.
“Targeting desalination facilities that supply drinking water to thousands of innocent people constitutes a clear example of a war crime and a crime against humanity,” he was quoted as saying by the Energy Ministry’s website.
Saturday’s strike on the Bunji plant is not an isolated incident. Iranian officials have documented a pattern of U.S. attacks on water infrastructure that predates the current escalation. In early June, U.S. airstrikes damaged two water reservoirs in Sirik district, also in Hormozgan province, cutting off water to approximately 20,000 residents across ten villages.
Hamzehpour, who also oversees the provincial water company, confirmed at the time that the two tanks with a combined capacity of 2.5 million liters were struck by missiles, taking both facilities out of service. The attack came as temperatures in the region hovered between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius, making living conditions “extremely difficult and precarious” for affected residents.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei shared video footage of the damaged reservoirs, stating: “This was not an unintentional loss, but a deliberate crime and a blatant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law”.
The attack on the Bunji plant is part of a broader pattern of U.S. strikes targeting civilian infrastructure across Iran. U.S. strikes for seven consecutive nights have hit transportation infrastructure including bridges, roads, and the Bandar Abbas railway station, disrupting rail services and commercial activity. 
A bridge collapse caused a civilian vehicle to fall, killing seven people and injuring nine others. A separate strike in a residential neighborhood of Bandar Abbas killed one civilian and wounded eight more.
Iran’s Health Ministry said 50 people have been martyred and more than 500 injured in U.S. attacks across the country
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