Blain’s Morning Porridge March 31st, 2026 – Escalating the Iran War into a Water War!

“I hold at your neck the gom jabbar, the high-handed enemy. It’s a needle with a drop of poison…”

Who needs nukes to win an Oil War when Water is the key? The Front-Line Gulf States are highly vulnerable to a Water War on their desalination plants. Yesterday Trump threatened to strike Iran’s water infrastructure – practically inviting Tehran to strike back! But the Strait of Hormuz is not Iran’s only Ace in the current war.

Yesterday Donald Trump’s threatened a major escalation of the Iran War when he threatened to “blow up” Iran’s desalination plants. That would be a war crime – simple as. No ifs. No buts. The Rome statues forbid targeting civilian infrastructure while the Fourth Geneva convention specifically prohibits attacks on drinking water facilities. There are some things that can’t be unsaid.

I’m sure I’m not the only financier wondering what Trump’s latest off-the-cuff, ill-considered jaw-dropper really means. Am I going to have to sell my entire position in US Treasuries and US Stocks? The UK regulator, the FCA, and internal ethical investment parameters, are both quite clear and specific about the ethics of investing in states that promote terror or genocide against civilian populations.  

Al Jazeera carried an interview with a professor of international law this morning: “Trump’s threat reinforces the climate of impunity around collective punishment in warfare” adding: “this is clearly a [threat] of collective punishment, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law. You can’t deliberately harm an entire civilian population to pressure its government.”

But the real issue is not the legality of warfare, but what Trump escalated yesterday. Were Trump to destroy Iran’s decaying desalination plants – which don’t supply Tehran and account for less than 3% of Iran’s water, it would have limited immediate effect on his opponent.

But it would immediately escalate the war - practically a gilt-embossed invite to the Iran regime to counterstrike Gulf States’ water infrastructure and desalination facilities in what could prove a genocidal escalation of the war. Were Iran to successfully strike Gulf water supplies because Trump threatened to strike them – it would be the equivalent of a nuclear strike in terms of effectiveness.

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