The city of Tehran is being poisoned by a toxic cloud of smoke from the Israeli bombing of oil depots:
Iran’s capital was engulfed in a cloud of toxic smoke that unleashed black rainfall dozens of miles away on Sunday after overnight Israeli strikes on several fuel depots caused fires to burn for hours.
Images from Tehran, a city of nearly 10 million people, showed thick black smoke from the fires hanging over it, while residents reported difficulty breathing and oil-tainted rainfall staining everything around them.
The destruction of the country’s civilian infrastructure is terrible in itself, and the harm that the U.S. and Israel are doing to the population is appalling and indefensible. Millions of people are being threatened by toxic fumes and poisoned rain. The damage to the environment will be severe. The short and long-term effects on the health of the population of Tehran and the surrounding region will be grave. Iranians will be suffering the consequences of this war long after the bombing stops.
It is not surprising that a genocidal government would commit more crimes against humanity in this war, but it is important to recognize and condemn those crimes when we see them. Poisoning the air that the entire population breathes is a horrifying crime. The U.S. and Israel are inflicting monstrous collective punishment on one of the largest cities in the world in a war they started. The attackers have made clear through their actions that this is a war to wreck Iran and hurt its people.
The smoke from the fires is so thick that it has blotted out the sun:
Residents of Tehran woke up on Sunday morning to find it was still dark outside, an apocalyptic sight created by thick black smoke billowing from oil depots hit by Israeli strikes.
With the Sun blotted out, disoriented people in the Iranian capital had to turn on their lights to see through the gloom.
Gabriel da Silva, an atmospheric chemist, explains the dangers from the fumes and poisoned rain:
In the longer term, exposure to the compounds in the air and in this black rain is potentially increasing people’s cancer risk. When ultrafine particles (PM2.5) are inhaled, they can get into your bloodstream. This has been linked to a range of health impacts, including cancers, neurological conditions (such as cognitive impairment), and various cardiovascular conditions.
Once these heavily polluted plumes of air have their pollutants rained into natural waterways, they can also start to affect aquatic life, as well as human drinking water sources.
Another issue is that this black rain is depositing these compounds on buildings, roads and surfaces, which means they can make their way back into the air when disturbed by strong winds.
The poisoning of Tehran will be harming and killing innocent Iranians for years after the war is over. As we have seen in our government’s many other unnecessary wars from Southeast Asia to Iraq and beyond, there is always a trail of ruin and contamination left behind. The longer that this disastrous war goes on, the more devastating its effects will be.
The Guardian spoke to an Iranian woman in Tehran with the alias of Negin. She said this:
Negin, who went out to buy a mask and an inhaler, said: “Even masks are becoming difficult to find. This is a huge mistake. I ask those who have the ability, especially foreign media, to reflect on this situation. What are people supposed to do under these conditions? This is truly a crime against humanity.”
Speaking about the effects on people of the US-Israeli strikes continuing around her she said, “This is no longer just a human rights violation. It is truly anti-human behaviour. If someone has a problem with the Islamic Republic government, that is one thing – but not with us, the people. You cannot attack water systems or refineries. Most of Tehran’s water comes from dams. If those become polluted, what happens then? The government has basically left people on their own.”
Destroying Iran’s oil infrastructure is a cruel attack on the future of the country in other ways. No matter what form of government Iran has in the years to come, it will need its oil infrastructure intact if it is to recover from the deprivations of sanctions and war. Wrecking that infrastructure is more proof that the attackers want to cripple and weaken Iran.
The U.S. shares responsibility for the actions of its partner in this criminal war. Whether or not the administration knew what the Israeli government was bombing, it is Israel’s chief enabler and arms supplier. If the administration wished to rein Israel in, it could do so, but it doesn’t. Both governments are on the hook for every new crime that either one commits against the people of Iran.
This is what happens when foreign interventionists attack another country. The people are the ones made to suffer most. Just as the people have borne the brunt of cruel sanctions for years, they are also the ones that pay a high price when their country is bombed. Interventionists frequently dress up their aggression as an attempt to “help” the population, but plunging someone’s country into war for no reason is always harmful and destructive. Iranians will be living with the toxic legacy of this war for decades while the aggressors forget all about Iran and move on to their next target.