A month into the Iran War, the Trump administration continues to send mixed messages about when and how it will end. In addition to threats on electricity plants and oil wells if a deal isn’t reached, the president said he would consider destroying another piece of critical infrastructure: Iran’s water desalination plants.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks to Bloomberg defense policy and intelligence reporter Peter Martin about the Middle East’s reliance on desalination, the potential humanitarian crisis that targeting the plants could spark and how that action could fly in the face of international law.

Read more: 
How the Iran War Is Exposing the Risks to Gulf Water Supply
US Expands Threats to Iran Energy, Water as It Hails Talks

Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Peter Martin; Edited by Paddy Hirsch.

Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

A month into the Iran War, the Trump administration continues to send mixed messages about when and how it will end. In addition to threats on electricity plants and oil wells if a deal isn&rsquo;t reached, the president said he would consider destroying another piece of critical infrastructure: Iran&rsquo;s water desalination plants.
On today&rsquo;s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talks to Bloomberg defense policy and intelligence reporter Peter Martin about the Middle East&rsquo;s reliance on desalination, the potential humanitarian crisis that targeting the plants could spark and how that action could fly in the face of international law.
Read more:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-12/iran-war-why-desalination-plants-are-key-vulnerability-for-gulf-states">How the Iran War Is Exposing the Risks to Gulf Water Supply</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-30/us-expands-threats-to-iran-energy-water-even-as-it-hails-talks">US Expands Threats to Iran Energy, Water as It Hails Talks</a></li>
</ul>
Hosted by Sarah Holder; Produced by David Fox; Reported by Peter Martin; Edited by Paddy Hirsch.
Fact-checking by Eleanor Harrison-Dengate; Engineering by Alex Sugiura.
Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.

Big Take

Is Water Infrastructure the Next Target in the Iran War?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2461300a-fac6-4196-abc7-b41e015ec86d/transcript