Strikes on oil infrastructure, missile bases and ships in the US–Israel–Iran confrontation are raising alarm about long‑lasting threats to human health and the environment. The UK nonprofit Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) has logged more than 300 incidents of potential environmental damage — from attacks on energy sites to assaults on vessels in the Persian Gulf — and its director says that likely understates the true scale given US claims of strikes on thousands of sites.
The United Nations has warned that attacks on oil facilities could cause “serious environmental consequences across the region,” threatening safe water, breathable air and food supplies. In Tehran, recent strikes produced “black rain” — oil mixed with precipitation — and thick plumes of black smoke that prompted health warnings and reports of headaches and breathing difficulties. Atmospheric scientists say emissions from burning oil and damaged infrastructure likely contained fine particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and other toxic combustion by‑products. These pollutants can penetrate deep into the lungs and raise the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular disease, especially among infants, older adults and people with preexisting conditions.
The immediate smoke and soot are only part of the problem. Bombed oil facilities, military bases and weapons stores can leave persistent contamination on roads, rooftops, soils and croplands. Attacks on military sites can release fuels, heavy metals, PFAS chemicals and residues from explosives; some explosive by‑products, including compounds related to TNT, are chemically stable and carry carcinogenic risks. Determining what has been released is hard without on‑site environmental testing: investigators are often limited to satellite imagery, radar damage maps, social media posts and news reports, leaving many unknowns about the identity, quantity and distribution of hazardous materials.
Marine ecosystems face heightened exposure as attacks on navies and commercial shipping increase the likelihood of oil spills. The Persian Gulf supports coral reefs, seagrass beds, pearl oysters, green turtles and the world’s second‑largest dugong population, and underpins coastal fishing communities. Sunken or damaged ships can leak fuel and hazardous cargoes for years; observers have already linked conflict pollution beyond the Gulf, with oil slicks reported off Sri Lanka after a frigate was torpedoed and sank. Attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters therefore threaten biodiversity, fisheries and livelihoods across a wide geographic area.
War also carries a large climate footprint. Conflict operations and military logistics generate substantial greenhouse‑gas emissions: studies of other wars show hundreds of millions of tonnes of CO2 equivalent released in early phases. Militaries are major fossil‑fuel consumers and, if counted as a single entity, would rank among the world’s top emitters — yet their emissions are generally excluded from national reporting under the Paris Agreement, obscuring the contribution of armed conflict to global heating.
Iran was already dealing with chronic water shortages, severe air pollution and ecosystem degradation exacerbated by climate change and governance challenges. Conflict intensifies those stresses and is often followed by weakened environmental governance, in which cleanup and protection are deprioritized. Limited transparency about contamination and constrained domestic capacity for remediation could mean little reliable information or international support for recovering damaged environments.
In short, the environmental and public‑health effects of these strikes can persist long after active hostilities end — affecting air, soil, water, marine life and the climate — while assessment and remediation are likely to be hampered by lack of access, data and governance capacity.
Edited by Jennifer Collins