(The Hill) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday warned that strikes on Iranian oil depots causing “black rain” could lead to respiratory problems as toxic pollutants disperse through the air.
“Black rain,” also referred to as “acidic rain,” falling over Tehran “is indeed a danger” to the city’s inhabitants, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva, Switzerland.
“We are in touch with the hospitals and with the authorities, and the Iranian authorities have issued an alert advising people to stay indoors, in light of the attacks on oil warehouses especially,” he said, according to a United Nations news report.
The WHO is also monitoring the “massive release” of toxic hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides and nitrogen compounds in the air. Each of these compounds are dangerous for humans, with the inhalation or consumption of hydrocarbons possibly resulting in serious injury or death, according to UConn Health, an affiliate of the University of Connecticut.
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani warned that the impacts of these strikes on oil facilities raise “serious questions as to whether the proportionality and precaution obligations under international humanitarian law were met” in the attacks, stressing that the sites hit “do not appear to be of military exclusive usage.”
Lindmeier noted that Iranian retaliatory strikes on Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities also raise concerns about the “wider regional pollution exposure” of long-term pollutants and their impact on water when contaminated.
The Iranian Environmental Protection Organization urged people to remain indoors and warned that “highly acidic and dangerous” oil rainfall can cause “chemical burns to the skin and severe lung damage,” NBC News reported.
“If the rain contacts skin, do not rub it, rinse immediately with cold running water,” the agency stated.
The Hill reached out to the White House for comment.
The conflict and the Iran Revolutionary Guard’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 percent of the world’s oil and gasoline passes through, have resulted in a spike in gas prices. AAA estimates that the national average for gas is $3.54. Two ships have traveled through the strait in the last 24 hours despite the closure, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com.
President Donald Trump, who decried rising prices due to inflation during his campaign for a second White House term, has defended the price surge as being part of a “short excursion” and said it is a “very small price to pay” for eliminating the Iran’s alleged nuclear threat.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday called on Israel to pull back on its strikes hitting Iranian oil depots, adding that the U.S. ally should be “cautious about what targets you select.”
“Our goal is to liberate the Iranian people in a fashion that does not cripple their chance to start a new and better life when this regime collapses,” he wrote on the social platform X. “The oil economy of Iran will be essential to that endeavor.”
