From the airport to power and water stations: Iran confirms that terrorism is a policy with no exceptions
On June 9, Al-Qabas newspaper published an article titled “A Cruel Aggression and a War Crime… Kuwait Will Not Be Deterred by the Cost of Terrorism,” which addressed the repeated Iranian attacks on Kuwait International Airport. It warned that targeting civilian infrastructure of such scale cannot be dismissed as a military error or collateral damage, but rather constitutes deliberate behavior that reveals the nature of a regime unhesitant in using terrorism as a means to achieve its political and military objectives. At the time, some viewed this warning as overly harsh, but today’s events confirm that the threat was far greater than many had imagined.
Following the repeated targeting of Kuwait International Airport, the attacks expanded to include electricity and water desalination plants—civilian facilities that constitute the lifeline of the state, upon which every citizen and resident depends for access to water, electricity, and essential services. With these strikes, the last fig leaf has fallen from the Iranian narrative, which consistently claims to target only American military bases and installations. A civilian airport is not a military base; water desalination plants are not barracks; and electricity stations are not arms depots. These are purely civilian facilities, whose targeting is prohibited under international humanitarian law due to the direct threat they pose to the lives and security of civilians.
The repeated attacks on Kuwait International Airport carry a profoundly dangerous implication. When an airport is targeted repeatedly, and the scope of attacks expands to include water and electricity facilities, we are no longer dealing with guidance errors, but with a systematic policy aimed at terrorizing society, paralyzing vital infrastructure, and instilling fear among civilians. These are the hallmarks of terrorism, regardless of the perpetrator or the pretext invoked.
Ironically, Kuwait—which has always been one of the most cautious states in pursuing a policy of balance and restraint—has repeatedly declared that it will not allow its territory or airspace to be used to attack any state, and has consistently sought to spare the region from the ravages of escalation. Yet, these moderate stances have not shielded Kuwait from repeated attacks targeting its vital civilian infrastructure.
Targeting water and electricity facilities transcends being merely an act of hostility against a sovereign state, as it infringes upon fundamental human rights. Safe drinking water, electrical energy, and freedom of movement through airports are not military objectives; they are rights that ensure the continuation of life. Attacking them is an attack on civilians themselves, regardless of any attempt by perpetrators to cloak their actions in the guise of military operations.
The international community is now called upon to move beyond conventional condemnatory rhetoric and address these attacks according to their true nature. Repeated targeting of civilian infrastructure must not go unanswered or unpunished, as silence in the face of such crimes only encourages their recurrence and sends a false message that targeting civilians can come without cost.
On June 9, I wrote that the targeting of Kuwait International Airport was not an isolated incident, but an early warning of what might follow. Today, with attacks having spread to electricity and water desalination plants, that assessment is confirmed beyond any ambiguity. We are not merely facing military escalation; we are confronting a strategy that targets civilian infrastructure and uses it as a tool for coercion and intimidation.
Kuwait will remain, God willing, a state impervious to terrorism, strong through its leadership and people. However, it is also the duty of the world to call things by their proper names and to recognize that the repeated targeting of civilian airports, water stations, and electricity facilities can only be described as organized terrorism, a blatant violation of all principles underpinning international humanitarian law, and a direct threat to the security and stability of the region.
Waleed Ibrahim Al-Khabizi
