The one essential ...

An incoming projectile explodes over the water as Israel issues a nationwide alert following its strikes on Iran, in Haifa Bay, northern Israel, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Finally, the endgame ... attacking one's existential, water,
something most precious in the arid region known as the Middle East.

As missiles and drones curtail energy production across the Persian Gulf,
analysts warn that water, not oil, may be the resource most at risk in the energy-rich but arid region.

On Sunday, Bahrain accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants. Earlier, Iran said a U.S. airstrike had damaged an Iranian plant.

Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, putting individual systems that supply water to millions within range of Iranian missile or drone strikes. Without them, major cities could not sustain their current populations.

In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination, along with roughly 86% in Oman and about 70% in Saudi Arabia. The technology removes salt from seawater — most commonly by pushing it through ultrafine membranes in a process known as reverse osmosis — to produce the freshwater that sustains cities, hotels, industry and some agriculture across one of the world’s driest regions.

This image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows the Jebel Ali Port in Dubai,
United Arab Emirates, March 1, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP, File)

Photo 1: A photo taken during a tour of the Hadera Desalination Facility on April 3, 2022 shows a general view of the location in the central Israeli coastal town of Hadera. Israel, a leader in making seawater drinkable, plans to pump excess output from its desalination plants into the Sea of Galilee, depleted by overuse and threatened by climate change. Israel now plans to tackle the challenge by reversing the water flow through its vast network of pumps, pipes and tunnels dating to the 1960s, the National Water Carrier. Source: JACK GUEZ / AFP

Almost 90% of the desalinated water is produced in five seawater desalination plants: Ashkelon, Palmachim, Hadera, Sorek and Ashdod , which produce a total of 50% of the potable water in Israel.[1] The remainder is produced in saline groundwater desalination plants, most of them in the Arava area.

And this ...

In 2022, 86% of Israel's drinkable water was produced through desalination
of saltwater and brackish water.[5][6]

Question, what's the betting pool on Iran going after Israel's water? I thought so.