Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that the environment can “no longer be considered a silent victim of war” as attacks have caused “unprecedented environmental damage”.
“In recent years in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, we have witnessed how military attacks, in addition to human casualties and the destruction of vital infrastructure, have left deep and sometimes lasting effects on the environment,” he said.
Araghchi explained that US-Israeli attacks on Iranian oil, refinery and energy facilities have also caused “serious environmental risks”.
Shina Ansari, head of Iran’s Department of Environment, said that US-Israeli attacks on fuel storage tanks and facilities in the southern Iranian city of Asaluyeh have caused massive air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking at a conference in Tehran on ecocide, she was quoted as saying by Iran’s IRNA news agency that the Asaluyeh strikes released about 904 tonnes of particulate matter, 4,700 tonnes of volatile compounds and more than 13,000 tonnes of sulphur oxides, while 1.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide entered the atmosphere.
Ansari said that such attacks undermine national efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment, calling for climate justice and international accountability for environmental damage caused by conflict.