The military attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, along with waves of missile strikes and bombardments targeting cities, refineries, oil storage facilities, industrial infrastructures, and missile and nuclear sites, are not merely a military and political crisis; they constitute a deep and multilayered catastrophe for the environment and human health. The experience of wars in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Ukraine, Yemen, and Afghanistan has shown that the environmental destruction caused by war lasts far longer than the sound of explosions. It settles into the layers of air, water, soil, and the food chain, exposing future generations to disease and insecurity.
If we examine the consequences of the current war more closely, we see that war has carried insecurity from the battlefield into people’s daily lives and onto their tables. Bread, water, and air—elements that should sustain life—become carriers of toxic particles, heavy metals, radionuclides, and pathogenic microorganisms. In war-stricken Iran, the connection between these elements is painfully tangible. The bombing of oil tanks and refineries has polluted the skies of Tehran, Karaj, and other cities. Toxic particles, soot, and heavy metals settle on gardens and farmlands; fuel leaks and industrial wastewater contaminate rivers and wells, making drinking water unsafe; and in the worst-case scenario, damage to nuclear sites could add a layer of radioactive contamination to this already fragile system. As a result, the environmental impact of war extends across the entire country and even into neighboring regions.
The most visible aspect of destruction appears in the skies over cities. Bombing of refineries and oil storage facilities in Tehran, Fardis, and other areas, along with large-scale fires in fuel depots and petrochemical facilities in Bushehr, has released massive amounts of thick smoke, soot, fine particulate matter, sulfur compounds, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals into the atmosphere. The burning of hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War demonstrated that large-scale oil fires can darken the skies of an entire region for months, alter temperature and solar radiation at ground level, and cause toxic and acidic fallout over cities and deserts. In Iran, reports—both official and unofficial—indicate that attacks on energy infrastructure have released thousands of tons of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the air, worsening the already critical air quality of cities suffering from traffic and industrial emissions. This air pollution is directly linked to increased asthma attacks, worsening chronic respiratory diseases, higher rates of heart attacks and strokes, and increased mortality among the elderly and vulnerable populations.
At a deeper level, water contamination—both surface water and groundwater—is one of the most dangerous and silent consequences of war. Bombing water supply systems, treatment plants, dams, and sewage networks leads to the rapid mixing of drinking water with raw sewage, industrial waste, fuel residues, and chemical pollutants. Studies from wars in Yemen and Afghanistan show that many children die not directly from bullets or explosions, but from diseases caused by contaminated water, such as infectious diarrhea, hepatitis, and cholera. In Iran’s current war, damage to infrastructure and leakage of fuel and oil from destroyed tankers and military and industrial sites pose serious threats to rivers, wells, and underground aquifers. When drinking water becomes contaminated with petroleum compounds, heavy metals, nitrates, and pathogens, even those not directly affected by bombings face risks of acute infectious diseases and, in the long term, cancers of the digestive system, kidney and liver dysfunction, and neurological disorders.
Soil, as the foundation of food production and plant life, is perhaps the quietest victim of war. Explosions, fires, and the burning of oil and gas reservoirs deposit large amounts of soot, ash, heavy metals, and complex petroleum compounds onto the land. Thin but toxic layers of these materials disrupt the soil’s microbial structure, kill beneficial organisms such as earthworms, and reduce the soil’s natural capacity for self-purification and nutrient supply. The Gulf War of 1991 showed that “oil lakes” formed on the ground not only destroyed vegetation but also created nearly impermeable layers that prevented rainwater infiltration, leading to long-term salinization and degradation of the soil. In a country like Iran, where much of the land is already arid or semi-arid and fertile soil is limited, the infiltration of petroleum compounds and heavy metals from bombed industrial and military facilities threatens the future of agriculture and food security.
This soil contamination quickly manifests in the food chain. Vegetables grown near industrial zones, refineries, and military routes are directly exposed to pollutants settling on their leaves and fruits. At the same time, plant roots absorb heavy metals and petroleum compounds that have penetrated the soil. Thus, substances such as lead, cadmium, and aromatic petroleum compounds enter the human and animal body through everyday foods—leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, grains, and animal feed. Long-term consumption of such products can lead to neurological disorders, reduced IQ in children, developmental problems, fertility issues, and increased risk of certain cancers—often without any immediate signs of acute poisoning. This is the hidden and insidious face of war, revealing itself years after the conflict ends through rising rates of chronic disease.
One of the most terrifying environmental scenarios in war is an attack on nuclear facilities or radioactive storage sites. Even without a nuclear weapon explosion, severe damage to a reactor core, spent fuel pools, or radioactive material storage can release significant amounts of radionuclides into the air, water, and soil. Experiences from Hiroshima, Chernobyl, and Fukushima show that radioactive particles can travel hundreds of kilometers, settling on farms, forests, cities, and water reservoirs. These contaminants enter the human body primarily through inhalation of polluted air and consumption of contaminated food and water. Long-term studies of survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as populations exposed to nuclear testing, reveal that ionizing radiation increases the risk of cancers such as leukemia, thyroid, lung, and breast cancer over decades, and can even cause genetic mutations affecting future generations. In this context, attacks on Iran’s missile and nuclear sites—if accompanied by radioactive leakage—would expose not only nearby populations but vast regions to long-term contamination.
Additionally, the impact of war on marine ecosystems—especially in the Persian Gulf—must not be overlooked. Due to its shallow depth, high evaporation rate, and limited water exchange with the open ocean, the Persian Gulf is already a fragile ecosystem. Explosions and sinking of oil tankers, attacks on export terminals, and oil spills can create massive oil slicks that spread across the surface, depriving marine life of light and oxygen, and threatening birds and fish by coating their feathers and gills. Some oil disperses in the water column, while some settles in seabed sediments, contaminating the marine food chain from plankton and invertebrates to large fish and ultimately humans. The Gulf War provided a clear example of this, where large-scale oil spills and burning wells severely damaged marine and coastal ecosystems in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, with full recovery still under debate.
From a human perspective, this situation amounts to a form of gradual death. Beyond the immediate casualties of bombings and missile strikes, waves of chronic respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancer-related diseases, along with developmental and genetic disorders, emerge over time. These are often difficult to isolate in public health statistics but are clearly linked to the simultaneous occurrence of war and environmental destruction. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, chronically ill individuals, and marginalized and impoverished communities are the most vulnerable—those who have the least role in decisions about war yet bear the greatest burden of its consequences.
Thus, the current war in Iran, particularly with its focus on oil, industrial, and nuclear infrastructure, has created a compounded crisis of security, environment, and public health. Even if the war ends and the sounds of jets and explosions fall silent, the toxic residues left in the air, water, soil, and food chain will continue to cast a shadow over people’s lives for years—perhaps decades. Understanding this reality is essential not only for environmental analysts and medical professionals but for every citizen who truly values the right to life.