The Persian Gulf region is a vital source of oil and gas for the global economy. But the war in Iran is putting scarce water resources for the parched populations there in jeopardy, too.聽
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Monitor Daily Podcast
March 14, 2026
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Clayton Collins
Director of Innovation
Welcome to your Saturday newsletter.
The war in the Persian Gulf, of course, dominated headlines all week. We examined Iran鈥檚 emerging strategy, and the effect on the global economy of the disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. We weighed the widening conflict as a test of an American president鈥檚 governing style and of an Israeli leader鈥檚 commitment to his own end goal.
Oil has colored much of the coverage. We live in a world that still mostly runs on it and that relies on petroleum-based products. Oil-based fuel delivers the fertilizers that drive large-scale agriculture. Today, Taylor Luck explores the near- and long-term challenges for another resource: water. Especially in the region at the center of this fight, it鈥檚 both vital and vulnerable.
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On Friday, the U.S. said it had struck military targets on Iran鈥檚 Kharg Island, site of a major oil-export terminal, and suggested that strikes on oil infrastructure there could come next. That followed an earlier announcement that some 2,500 U.S. Marines were being deployed to the region. Watch our homepage and our new app for developing news.