The (toxic) sky above Tehran: bombs on crude oil deposits and acid rain are a disaster for the environment and humanity

The bombings on the crude oil depots in Tehran and the fire that devastated the Bapco refinery in Bahrain have triggered an emergency that is not limited to the flames. The Red Crescent – the international relief organization which plays the same role in Muslim countries as the Red Cross in Italy – has launched an appeal: citizens of the Iranian capital must barricade themselves at home due to the smoke, but also the imminent risk of acid rain, triggered by the burning of oil barrels.

“It smells burning. I can’t see the sun. There is horrible smoke. It’s still there, I’m very tired” a citizen of Tehran told the BBC, worried about the dangerous bombings carried out by Israel and the USA. The images released by the media and NGOs such as Human Rights Activists in Iran show catastrophic scenes:

The chemical laboratory of war

When a missile hits a hydrocarbon tank, the reaction is devastating for the air. Combustion releases sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in large quantities. These gases, once they rise to altitude, do not vanish: they encounter the humidity of the clouds and react with oxygen, transforming into sulfuric acid and nitric acid, as explained Gabriele da Silva, associate professor of chemical engineering, on The Conversation.

The result is rain with a pH lower than 7, which is acidic. According to Enea studies, this phenomenon is typical of heavily industrialized areas, but the intensity of the war fires of recent days has created instant saturation. It is a threat that affects everything it touches: from the lungs of those who breathe in those toxic particles to the surfaces of buildings.

Water and land: the permanent victims

Unlike a bombed building, the territory cannot be rebuilt with peace funds. If acid rain falls on fields, it dissolves vital nutrients such as magnesium and calcium, making the soil infertile. In a region like the Middle East, where the land is already arid, this means killing agriculture for the next few years.

The damage to watersheds is equally serious. The acidification of lakes and rivers destroys fish fauna and alters the drinkability of reserves. In Bahrain, where the war has already affected the desalination plants needed to obtain fresh water, the risk that rainfall will contaminate the scarce remaining resources is very high. We fight in the name of energy but the foundations of human survival are destroyed.

The “small price” of a global crisis

As Brent oil topped $114 a barrel, Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the price increase is a “small price to pay” for safety. However, this calculation completely ignores the environmental and health cost. Organizations such as Greenpeace and the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) have demonstrated in the past that environmental crises resulting from conflicts have clean-up costs and public health impacts (especially for those with respiratory problems) that far exceed the economic value of the destroyed infrastructure.

The ongoing war between Iran, Israel and the United States is proving that oil burns even in the air we breathe. The clouds full of acid gases do not respect borders and do not stop before treaties: they are the tangible sign that every bomb on a well is, in fact, an attack on collective health.