- by Graham Holton
- The Guardian
- Issue #2183
Tehran. Photo: Avash Media – wikimedia.org (CC BY 4.0)
On 28 February the United States and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes on Iran during peace talks. Ayatollah Ali Khamanei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, was killed, along with several members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The US and Israel continued strikes on oil storage facilities causing massive fires, towering smoke plumes and streets lit up at night by the flames. In Tehran toxic compounds from burning plastics, fuel, and chemicals filled the air, contaminating soil, water sources and aquifers, important for drinking water.
A teacher in Tehran described the attacks as “Something like a black monster has swallowed the sky… the air is unbreathable.” After fifteen minutes outside, she developed headaches, burning lips, and irritated eyes due to the toxic air. One Tehran resident said “The rain is black … I’m seeing black rain.” Another witness described the rainwater was black on his hands, from burning oil mixed with rain. Eyewitnesses said the sky darkened dramatically, “This morning the air was pitch black. It is daytime, but it’s dark like night.” Smoke plumes from burning oil storage sites blocked the sunlight. Environmentalists have called it a ‘catastrophe,’ and ‘ecocide.’
Shina Ansari, the head of Iran’s Department of Environment (DOE), has condemned the airstrikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian oil storage facilities. Ansari said, “The enemies have started environmental war on Iran, endangering people’s health. They’re targeting oil facilities, particularly in metropolises where a large number of people live. There’s no justification.” Burning oil facilities release hydrocarbons, sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides, heavy metals and soot. The air is filled with chemicals that cause respiratory illnesses, skin irritations, and long-term cancer risks.
Harming civilians this way violates international law. Ansari said that Iranians “are confronting an immoral, environmental war. We have to do our best to keep people safe and away from disastrous consequences of toxic pollutants. The department of environment has already warned people.”
Ansari sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and other relevant environmental organisations, condemning the US and Israeli attacks, urging them “to respond decisively to these hostile measures.” Ansari called the environment “a silent victim” of a war in which the long-term ecological and societal ramifications threaten communities across affected regions. If the US bombs nuclear sites the consequences will be severe, with the release of radioactive contamination.
These large fires and explosions of fuel depots and refineries have released tens of thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gases and hundreds of thousands of kilograms of toxic pollutants. Satellite photos show thick smoke plumes over Tehran, comparable to the pollution caused by the Kuwait Oil Fires in 1991, one of the largest wartime pollution events in history.
Back then the Iraqi military set fire to 700 oil wells during the Gulf War, releasing 1.5 billion barrels of oil into the environment, contaminating soil, groundwater, and marine habitats. Up to 6 million barrels of oil burned, daily emitting 13,700 tonnes of toxic smoke, and 50 million barrels of oil formed “oil lakes.” The release of greenhouse gases contributed to global climate concerns. The long-term ecological impact included habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, and long-term health issues for humans and wildlife. The present destruction of Iran is comparable, although serious pollution is localised so far.
The massive black clouds over Iran have disrupted bird migrations during the spring. Iran sits at the crossroads of the Central Asian, East African, and Black Sea migration corridors, a major feeding centre for migrating birds. It has 558 recorded bird species, sixty-three of which are globally threatened. There are 105 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas covering 85,000 km². The bombing and military activity has disrupted natural habitats and ecosystems, with wildlife fleeing lost habitats, further damaging biodiversity. Even protected areas are affected by sounds, fires, and pollution far beyond the battle zones.
HORMUZ
Around 500 oil tankers are currently trapped in the Persian Gulf unable to access the Strait of Hormuz. At least sixteen civilian ships have been attacked, with several tankers being set on fire from missile strikes. The sinking of large oil carriers would release a flood of oil destroying the Gulf’s delicate ecosystems, destroying coral reefs and large fish stocks so important to local populations for food. Several dangerous pollutants are released from the burning oil tankers, releasing hydrocarbons, benzene, toluene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These are carcinogenic chemicals linked to DNA damage.
The IRIS Dena was an Iranian naval ship torpedoed by a US nuclear powered submarine in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. The pollutants released include diesel and bunker fuel, lubricating oils and hydraulic fluids, paint, solvents, chemicals, and fragments of metal, plastic, and insulation. The war continues.
ESCALATION
At time of writing, the US Embassy in Baghdad has been hit by a missile. Although Trump described the war as a “short term excursion” there’s no end in sight to the war he started. His officials have defined the targets of the way so loosely that they can declare victory at any time.
The killing of 160 people, including many children, on a strike on an Iranian primary school has been denied by the US leadership. Trump tried to blame the strike on the Iranians themselves, but backed off when asked how the Iranian military got its hands on a US-made Tomahawk missile.
Up to 3.2 million people have been displaced.
In Southern Lebanon, around 800,000 civilians have had to leave their houses after Israeli evacuation orders.
There is no end in sight.
