Water cut off for thousands of Iranians after US strikes

TEHRAN: Thousands of Iranians in the southern port town of Sirik have lost access to drinking water after US strikes hit two reservoirs in the area, Iranian state media said Wednesday.

The United States carried out strikes on the southern cities of Jask and Sirik and on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, after what Washington said was Iran’s downing of a US Army Apache helicopter over Gulf waters.

The strikes damaged two reservoirs supplying the Bemani and Kouhestak areas of Sirik town.

READ MORE: US launches new strikes on Iran after helicopter downed

“Unfortunately, following this attack, 20,000 residents of the region have lost access to safe drinking water, and with temperatures ranging between 45 and 50 degrees Celsius, conditions have become extremely difficult and critical for local inhabitants,” Iran’s state television quoted local water company officials as saying.

“The destruction of these reservoirs has created a major problem for the region’s water supply network,” it added, noting that the area had insufficient groundwater to replace the damaged reservoirs.

Efforts were underway to find alternatives for villages affected in the area, according to Abdolhamid Hamzehpour, a senior water company official in the southern province of Hormozgan.

Tehran condemned the strikes as having been carried out “under false pretext” and responded with missile and drone attacks on what it said were US bases in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait.