New Delhi, July 19 -- the national electricity infrastructure, already stretched beyond capacity by a summer heatwave, had begun to fracture.

Iran's grid has shed 4,200 megawatts of generation capacity since the United States launched its strike campaign more than a week ago, according to figures confirmed by Allahdad, the chief executive of the country's power distribution authority. More than 2,000 transmission and distribution points across the country have been damaged or destroyed, leaving hospitals, water treatment stations, and industrial sites operating on backup systems or not at all.

The Kish Island power plant, which serves one of Iran's most commercially active zones in the Persian Gulf, was struck directly. Distribution net...