SSatellite images of Tehran show toxic fires caused by Israeli bombing of oil depots continue to burn days after the attack, raising concerns of serious health complications for millions of residents of the Iranian capital.
Clouds of smoke from the bombing of multiple facilities on March 7 blanketed the city with pollutants ranging from soot to oil particles and sulfur dioxide. Hours later, a passing storm dumped rain laden with toxic oil on Tehran.
Tehran Refinery is located in the south of the city. Photo: Copernicus Sentinel
The Guardian spoke to residents who reported symptoms including headaches, eye and skin irritation and difficulty breathing. Experts warn that these symptoms are just the beginning and can carry long-term risks of cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, DNA damage and cancer.
Four fuel facilities in and around the capital were damaged, and a thick plume of smoke spewed into the atmosphere from the Shahran depot in the northwest. The Aqdashiyeh oil depot in the northeast, the Tehran refinery in the south, and the Shahid Dorati facility in the west were also damaged.
Map of fires in Tehran region.
Iran has described the attack as “ecocide”, calling it an act of wanton environmental destruction.
Satellite images two days after the airstrike showed a warehouse in Shahran and a refinery in Tehran still burning.
Another image taken by a European Space Agency satellite on Tuesday, 10 days after the attack, showed the two fires smoldering. However, smoke and flames were visible at the Akdasyeh oil depot in the northeast.
The Akajie oil depot was still visibly burning 10 days after the strike. Photo: Copernicus Sentinel
Footage posted on social media on March 8 showed heavy fires breaking out at the scene in Akudashiye.
Residents claim the capital’s air has been unbreathable for years. Tehran’s chronic air pollution has been exacerbated for years by the use of low-quality kerosene called Mazut. But the particles released by this month’s explosion were of a different scale, accumulating on cars, roads and rooftops across the capital.
Akdasyeh Oil Reservoir Loop
The bombing of fuel infrastructure and densely populated cities on which civilians depend shocked the world. Inside Iran, some rebels in Tehran who had initially supported military intervention said the airstrike marked a turning point.
Clothespins covered in soot from burned fuel in Tehran. Photo: Vahid Salemi/AP
Iranian doctors are sharing information about the dangers of acid rain, telling people not to stay outdoors, remove contaminated clothing, use N95 masks and avoid standing under trees.
Residents in Tehran told the Guardian that an outdoor pool they were using as an emergency water source was blackened by radioactive fallout from the strike. She also said the streets were black and slippery.
A man cleans a car covered in oil and soot residue on March 8. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the University of Reading, said the symptoms reported by Tehran residents were consistent with oil fires producing sulfur and nitrogen compounds that can form acids when dissolved in rainwater. Raindrops from the storm “are like little sponges or magnets, collecting things in the air as they fall, which is why residents have seen rain described as ‘black rain,'” Deoras said.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the attack posed a “risk of contaminating food, water and air, with serious health consequences, especially for children, the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions.”
March 10th, black soot in Tehran. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/Reuters
Israel claimed responsibility for the bombing of a fuel tank in Tehran and posted an image of one of the sites, a refinery in the south, on X. It is not clear whether the United States was involved. “This is an Israeli airstrike and a local fuel depot to fill up gas tanks,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in response to questions from CNN the day after the strike.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) warned that large amounts of smoke from oil burning are being “directly inhaled by Iranian citizens, including young children, raising serious concerns about the long-term effects on human and environmental health.”
Other strikes have caused severe environmental damage and can affect human health. This week, Iran attacked Fujairah, the UAE’s largest port and oil storage facility, and released satellite images showing a large plume of smoke rising over the sea. U.S. and Israeli attacks on ships caused oil spills into the sea, and Wednesday’s Israeli attack hit Iran’s production facility in the world’s largest natural gas field.
A fire broke out at the Shafran oil depot, filling the air with black smoke. Photo: Anadolu/Getty Images
UNEP said experience from other conflicts “shows that large oil fires and spills can cause widespread environmental pollution and pose serious health risks from exposure to smoke, particulates and toxic emissions.”
“Contamination from uncontrolled fires can also enter soil and water, leach into groundwater, and be absorbed by crops, contaminating food supplies,” the report said.
Andrea Serra, professor of inorganic chemistry at University College London, said the long-term health risks “will largely depend on the duration and severity of the individual’s exposure.”
“Drinking water supplies can become contaminated,” Serra said. “There is no question that the smoke from these fires is extremely harmful, and respiratory and other illnesses are expected to persist into the future.”
