Oil soars past $100 a barrel amid Iran war

Global oil prices have surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022, reaching $108.10 for Brent crude and $108.72 for WTI crude as of Monday. The surge follows escalating military aggression in the Middle East, specifically the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has disrupted oil supplies and removed 20 million barrels per day from the market. Kuwait's national oil company has already announced precautionary cuts to its crude oil production. Experts attribute the price increase to the ongoing conflict and the US administration's stance, with concerns that continued disruption could lead to further price increases and production shutdowns across Gulf energy exporters. Oil prices have risen by two-thirds since the start of the year.

Analysts warn that Iranian missile and drone strikes pose a significant threat to water supplies in Arab states along the Persian Gulf. These nations, including Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, rely heavily on desalination plants for drinking water, with some countries sourcing up to 90% of their water this way. The plants, which remove salt from seawater, are vulnerable to attack, potentially leaving major cities unable to sustain their populations. While the focus has been on the impact of conflict on energy prices and oil exports, the vulnerability of desalination infrastructure presents an equally critical risk to the region's stability, highlighting the dependence of these "saltwater kingdoms" on this technology.