The intensifying global competition for freshwater resources is reshaping geopolitical landscapes, revealing a new truth: securing water and averting conflicts demands far more than just traditional diplomacy and negotiation. It also calls for visionary policy that can leverage new innovations in desalination, water recycling, and irrigation.

For twelve days in June 2025, Israel and Iran traded attacks as the world held its breath and watched, wondering how this geopolitical game of chicken was going to end. What can Europe’s military planners learn from the conflict?