TEHRAN -- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Wednesday that U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran’s oil and energy infrastructure during the 40-day war have created “serious environmental hazards” that threaten human health, natural resources and the right of future generations to a healthy environment.
Speaking at the first international conference on “Ecocide: A Silent War Crime” in Tehran, Araghchi said the attacks targeted oil, refinery and energy facilities across the country, releasing dangerous chemical compounds confirmed by the United Nations Environment Program. 
He said the pollutants can travel through air to soil and water, even entering the food chain, and that their impacts can outlast both the time and place of the attack.
“Environmental destruction during war is a silent crime with consequences extending far beyond the battlefield,” Araghchi said. 
“Protecting the environment against military aggression and holding the enemies of this land and soil accountable is an indisputable necessity. We will neither forgive nor forget.”
The foreign minister also pointed to the “deep and persistent” environmental toll of military attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, saying Iran maintains that international law must not turn a blind eye to wartime destruction of the environment and fundamental human rights.
Iranian officials have cited figures showing the scale of the damage. Vice President and head of the Department of Environment Shina Ansari said strikes on fuel storage facilities and energy infrastructure in Asaluyeh released approximately 4,700 tonnes of volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere, along with greenhouse gases equivalent to about 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. 
She said the volume of pollutants was so substantial that evacuation of Tehran could have become necessary had atmospheric conditions not prevented most pollutants from reaching ground level in the capital.
Araghchi said the attacks are part of a broader pattern of environmental destruction in conflict zones. 
He said UNEP has documented unprecedented environmental damage in Gaza, where the collapse of water and sewage networks, damage to waste management systems, and contamination of water and soil sources could leave a legacy affecting Palestinian lives for decades.
In Lebanon, he said, fires caused by Israeli attacks have destroyed forests and agricultural land, with reports and documents submitted to the United Nations indicating millions of square meters of land burned and tens of thousands of olive trees damaged.
He also recalled the widespread contamination of Lebanese coastlines following an attack on oil storage tanks.
“The environment is a common heritage of humanity — not a field of competition, not a tool of political pressure, and not a victim of short-term economic and military considerations,” Araghchi said. 
He called on the international community to move beyond declarations of concern and into “accountability, responsibility and effective international action.”