West Asia war spreads: Israel strikes Lebanon, Tehran fuel sites; Iran hits Bahrain desalination plant

Iran struck a desalination plant in Bahrain during a drone attack, the Gulf kingdom said Sunday, marking the first reported strike on a water facility in an Arab country since the war between Iran, Israel, and the United States erupted on February 28.

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Bahraini authorities said the attack caused material damage to the plant and injured three people when missile fragments struck a university building in Muharraq city. The strike comes as the conflict spreads across the Persian Gulf, with missile alerts sounding in Dubai and drone and missile attacks reported in Kuwait.

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The escalation followed fresh Israeli strikes across the region, including attacks in Lebanon and Iran that have intensified the nine-day war. “Iranian aggression indiscriminately attacked civilian targets and caused material damage to a water desalination plant following a drone attack,” Bahraini authorities wrote on X. 

Hundreds of desalination plants line the Persian Gulf coast, providing the primary source of potable water for many countries in the region.

Three people were reportedly injured by shrapnel when fragments from a missile fell on a university building in Muharraq on Sunday morning. Bahrain’s interior ministry said missile debris also caused material damage.

Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Iran

Israel carried out new strikes early Sunday in southern Lebanon and Beirut, killing 12 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Israeli officials said the attacks targeted commanders of the Lebanese branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force. The strikes come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised “many surprises” in the next phase of the conflict.

“The commanders of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps operated to advance terror attacks against Israel, while also operating for the IRGC in Iran,” Israel’s defense forces said in a post. “The Iranian terror regime operates systemically in the heart of the civilian population in Iran & Lebanon. Prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate civilian harm.”

The Israeli military also said it struck a series of Iranian fighter jets at Isfahan Airport south of Tehran. According to the Israeli military, the aircraft included U.S.-made F-14 fighter jets purchased by Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The fleet has historically served as a key pillar of Iran’s air defense system.

The conflict began on Feb. 28 after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeted Iranian sites. Since then, at least 1,230 people have been killed in Iran, more than 300 in Lebanon, and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials.

Israel hits Iran’s oil facilities

The Israeli forces also confirmed that they have struck several fuel storage complexes belonging to the IRGC in Tehran. “Guided by IDF intelligence, the IAF struck these complexes, where the Iranian terrorist regime would distribute fuel to multiple military entities in Iran. The strike significantly deepens the damage to the military infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the IDF said.