Qatar's prime minister has warned that an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would "completely pollute" Gulf waters and threaten life in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.
The three desert states, facing Iran on the opposite side of the Gulf, have minimal natural water reserves and are home to more than 18 million people whose only drinking water supply is desalinated water extracted from the Gulf.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that an attack on Iran's nuclear sites would leave the Gulf "without water, without fish, nothing ... without life."
US President Donald Trump has said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and has suggested to Tehran that the two countries open talks. Trump has also rolled back a "maximum pressure" campaign that was applied during his first term as president to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero.
Sheikh Mohammed called for a diplomatic solution to avoid a military attack on Iran that would cause a "war that would spread throughout the region."
"There is no way Qatar would support any kind of military step...we will not give up until we see a diplomatic solution," he said in an interview with conservative American media personality Tucker Carlson.
Iran denies it is developing nuclear weapons and its supreme leader said on Saturday that Iran will not be involved in negotiations.
Qatar estimated several years ago that it was at risk of running out of drinking water after three days in the event of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, Sheikh Mohammed said.
The Gulf Arab state, where temperatures reach 50C in summer, has since built 15 of the world's largest concrete water tanks to boost emergency water supplies.