US strikes damage Iranian reservoirs, cut water for 20,000

A U.S. military strike in southern Iran has damaged critical water infrastructure, leaving approximately 20,000 residents without safe drinking water amid a severe heatwave. The attack on June 10 targeted two reservoirs in the port town of Sirik in Hormozgan province, according to Iranian state media and local officials.

The damaged reservoirs, with capacities of 500 and 2,000 cubic meters, supplied the Bemani and Kouhestak areas. With temperatures soaring between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius (113 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit), local authorities have described the situation as a critical humanitarian crisis. The managing director of the Hormozgan Water and Wastewater Company, Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, stated that the destruction has created a major problem for the regional supply network and that insufficient groundwater exists to compensate for the loss. Water distribution to the affected villages has been suspended.

The strikes were part of a broader U.S. operation targeting sites in Sirik, Jask, and Qeshm Island. A U.S. official stated the action was in retaliation for Iran downing a U.S. Army Apache helicopter over Gulf waters near the Strait of Hormuz, which the U.S. said was caused...