Attacks on Iran’s nuclear and military facilities could cause long-term ecological damage, including soil contamination.

It is not yet known how many missiles and bombs were fired at Iranian nuclear and military facilities during 12 days of war.

On June 22, the US attacked the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz nuclear sites with 14 “bunker busting” bombs weighing 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms) each, along with 30 Tomahawk missiles.

According to Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova from the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, the actual extent of the damage is still unclear.

On June 23, she told DW that the UN’s International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) has not yet been able to fully verify the effects of the attacks, particularly on the underground enrichment plant at Fordo.

“We can see some damage on satellite images, but we don’t know the actual extent and cost.”

The IAEA assumes that there is radioactive and chemical contamination at several sites.

Thousands of centrifuges could have been damaged by the sudden power outages. The centrifuges work with the highly reactive uranium hexafluoride (UF6).

Although no increased radiation levels have yet been measured outside the plants, a possible leakage of these substances poses considerable health and environmental risks. IAEA inspectors currently have no access to the affected nuclear facilities.

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Potential long-term environmental risks

“There is a lot we don’t know, and that is really the big problem,” said Roozbeh Eskandari, an independent environmental researcher who has studied pollution in Iran for years.

“Those responsible in Iran always claim that everything is under control. But now there is hardly any information about possible environmental dangers, not even for the people living in the immediate vicinity of the targets,” Eskandari told DW.

Eskandari points to a serious explosion that occurred at the end of April in the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

The smoke caused by the combustion of chemical substances released large quantities of soot, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and other pollutants, which caused a massive deterioration in air quality in the surrounding areas for several days.

In April, an explosion rocked Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas Image: Razieh Pudat/ISNA/AP/picture alliance

Similar clouds of smoke could also be seen in videos circulating on social media following attacks by the Israeli army on some missile installations in Iran.

“These pollutants contaminate the soil. Soil contamination in military conflicts is one of the worst, yet most overlooked, environmental consequences of war,” Eskandari added.

Pollutants often remain in the topsoil for decades and impair soil quality, which leads to loss of fertility and problems with soil regeneration.

Impacts of Iran-Iraq war

Iran experienced these kinds of long-term ecological consequences after its eight-year war with Iraq from 1980 to 1988.

The provinces of Khuzestan, Ilam, and Kermanshah in the west and southwest of the country, located on the border with Iraq, were the most affected at that time.

Khuzestan, with its important oil refineries and industrial facilities, was heavily bombed.

Many once-fertile fields became unsuitable for agriculture. Studies by local universities have also shown increased rates of cancer, respiratory diseases, and skin problems.

The ecological destruction, coupled with the chronic mismanagement of the political system and the increasing impact of climate change, continue to have direct consequences today.

According to the latest available government statistics, Khuzestan Province, home to ancient cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has had the highest emigration rate of all Iranian provinces over the past 20 years.

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This article was translated from German.