UK group assesses environmental risks of airstrikes
Iranian missile bases under concentrated attack
Toxic fuel and oxidizer not used in the West
Deadly to humans, causing cancer and blindness
Devastates life in soil and rivers as well
Tanker destruction also pollutes sea and air

As the ‘Epic Fury (Epic Fury)’ operation launched on the orders of U.S. President Donald Trump passes the one-week mark, the United States, Israel, Iran, and multiple other Middle Eastern countries are being pulled into this war like a black hole. Iran, having been hit by preemptive airstrikes, is mounting a full-spectrum counterattack.

Amid this, a globally respected non-profit research organization has warned that serious environmental contamination is a concern in the areas hit by the airstrikes. Above all, the problem is the toxic fuel and oxidizer thought to be stored at Iranian missile bases.

On the 3rd (local time), the UK-based research group ‘Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS)’ released an official brief stating that the destruction of facilities across key parts of the Middle East, triggered by U.S. airstrikes on Iran, is highly likely to cause environmental pollution.

CEOBS verified 120 airstrike incidents and assessed the environmental risks of 92 of them. The damage from the strikes spanned Iran as well as Israel, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, which became targets of Iranian retaliation. CEOBS combined satellite imagery with locations confirmed by news reports and social media to examine the damage in detail.

CEOBS identified Iranian missile bases as the most worrying sites in its analysis of potential environmental harm from the strikes. The reason is that the fuel and oxidizer used by older Scud-series missiles, of which Iran is estimated to operate at least several hundred, pose serious problems. Fuel and oxidizer are chemicals that provide propulsion to missiles.

Iranian Scud-series missiles use ‘unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH)’ as fuel and ‘inhibited red fuming nitric acid (IRFNA)’ as the oxidizer. Both are liquids by nature, but they slowly vaporize even at ambient temperatures.

The problem is that both UDMH and IRFNA are highly toxic. UDMH can cause fatal damage to the human liver and kidneys. It also causes cancer. By attacking the central nervous system, it can trigger seizures and respiratory distress. IRFNA is similarly dangerous. It dissolves human tissue, leading to blindness and other injuries. It also causes pulmonary edema, which fills the lungs with fluid and prevents breathing.

These two substances are lethal not only to people but to all living things. UDMH wipes out soil microorganisms. Dissolving into water, it causes mass die-offs of aquatic life. IRFNA turns river water strongly acidic and dissolves fish gills. In short, both UDMH and IRFNA devastate the natural environment. Because of these dangers, Western countries do not use UDMH or IRFNA.

However, footage reviewed by CEOBS shows massive columns of smoke at the Tabriz and Zanjan bases in northwestern Iran, where large stockpiles of Scud-series missiles are likely kept. This suggests powerful explosions or fires. With storage facilities in the bases damaged, it cannot be ruled out that UDMH and IRFNA leaked into the environment.

CEOBS also warned of marine pollution from oil spills, as Iran has begun attacking civilian vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, especially oil tankers, in response to U.S. strikes.

CEOBS said, “In conflict conditions, even if a vessel is attacked at sea, it is difficult for a tanker to mount a rapid emergency response,” and added, “The risk of crude oil spills increases.” According to CEOBS, as of the 3rd, at least five tankers had come under attack. Some tankers were seen ablaze.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed on the 4th that it had set more than 10 tankers on fire. With Iran declaring its intent to continue striking tankers, the likelihood of marine pollution is increasing further.

After being attacked by the United States, Iran also struck the Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia with drones. When oil burns, hazardous substances such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dioxins are released in the smoke. CEOBS warned, “Smoke can ride the wind and spread to multiple areas.”

If Iran intensifies attacks on onshore oil facilities in the Middle East, severe cross-border air pollution cannot be ruled out, and heightened tensions across the region are likely to persist for the time being.