Araghchi: US-Israeli strikes on Iran's energy facilities create 'serious' environmental hazards

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday the US-Israeli attacks on Iran's oil, refinery and energy facilities during the 40-day war have created serious environmental hazards.

As confirmed by the United Nations Environment Programme, the consequent fires and burning of hydrocarbon materials released dangerous chemical compounds, Araghchi said at the International Conference on "Ecocide, A Silent War Crime" in Tehran, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry statement.

Araghchi said the released pollutants can travel through air to soil and water, even entering the food chain, stressing that their impacts can outlast both the time and place of the attack, the statement read.

He also pointed to the "deep and persistent" environmental toll of military attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, adding that Iran maintains international law must not turn a blind eye to wartime destruction of the environment and fundamental human rights, it added.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

On March 7, US-Israeli strikes hit oil facilities in Tehran and neighboring Alborz province, setting them on fire. The precipitation that occurred the next day exacerbated the attacks' environmental damage.