Day Nine of Iran War: Water Facilities Targeted, New Supreme Leader Chosen

On Sunday, March 8, Bahrain accused Iran of targeting a desalination plant. The United Arab Emirates has also admitted that Iranian strikes hit very close to another such plant in Dubai last week. Not a surprise, but Iran also reported that one of its desalination facilities on Qeshm Island was struck. Parliament Speaker of Iran, Mohammad Ghalibaf stated that the attack was carried out with the help of an airbase in a neighboring country. The UAE was claimed to be involved but denied any misconduct. 

A Desalination plant is a facility that converts salty water from the sea into fresh drinking water. Such plants are common in the Middle Eastern countries where rainfall is rare, and groundwater is nearly nonexistent. These reports have ignited fear of normalizing the targeting of civilian infrastructure. 

On the same day, Iran chose the new Supreme Leader. According to BBC News, Mojtaba Khamenie, son of the late Ayatollah Khameine has been chosen as his successor. The 56-year-old new leader has maintained a low profile. He was never appointed as a government official before nor given any public speeches or interviews. 

There are rumors that he is quite influential in Iran. US Diplomatic cables, which were published by Wikileaks, described him as "the power behind the robes."