Air Pollution Linked To 14% of Natural Deaths In Iran
The Health and Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Health in Iran has disclosed that 14% of the country's natural deaths are attributed to air pollution.
The Health and Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Health in Iran has disclosed that 14% of the country's natural deaths are attributed to air pollution.
Department head, Abbas Shahsavani, also said Tehran holds the 19th position globally in terms of suspended particle concentration, placing it among the worst capitals worldwide.
“The average concentration of suspended particles in Iran was revealed to be 7.6 times higher than the World Health Organization guidelines and more than three times the national standard,” he added.
Alarming findings from studies indicate that for 107 days of the past year, weather conditions in Tehran were deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups, with 36 days considered unhealthy for the general population.
Globally, the impact of air pollution on mortality stands at an average of 11.65%, shedding light on the severity of the issue.
The revelation comes amid recent protests against mazut burning in several Iranian cities. Mazut, recognized as the most polluting fossil fuel, has been utilized in Iran's industries and power plants during the second half of each year due to a shortage of natural gas.
Despite mounting concerns, authorities in the Islamic Republic have not provided transparent explanations for the use of mazut, with some even denying its burning. The CEO of the Ramin Power Plant in the southern city of Ahvaz confirmed the use of mazut in one of its production units, citing the "approval of the Supreme National Security Council."
Further confirmation came from the Director-General of the Environmental Protection Organization of Markazi Province, acknowledging mazut burning at the Shahzand Power Plant in Arak.
Iraq has close ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran, both Shia-dominated governments, but the Iranian attack that destroyed the house of a well-know Iraqi Kurd, killing him and his family, solicited Baghdad’s angry response on Tuesday.
Tehran claimed that it targeted an Israeli “spy center” but Iraqi Kurdish leaders condemned the ballistic missile launch that killed a wealthy and influential member of their community.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards and regime officials in Tehran took a victory lap on Tuesday while also highlighting that they fired ballistic missiles at northern Syria, in their longest-range attack to date. They claimed they hit ISIS bases, where Afghan Islamic State forces were being trained. The Afghan ISIS had claimed responsibility for a January 13 twin suicide bombing in Iran that killed nearly 100 people.
It remains unclear why the IRGC did not target the specific group allegedly responsible for the terror attack in Afghanistan.
Iran’s missile strike in Iraq, however, is likely to deepen worries about worsening instability across the Middle East since the war between Israel and Hamas started on October 7, with Iran's militant proxy forces also entering the fray from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
There has also been concern that Iraq could again become a theater for regional conflict after a series of US strikes on Iran-linked militant groups that are also part of Iraq's formal security forces. Those strikes came in response to dozens of attacks on US forces in the region carried out since mid-October.
The Guards said the late Monday attack, Iran's first direct military strike in the region linked to the Gaza war, was in response to Israeli 'atrocities" against several of its commanders and those of Iranian-allied forces around the Middle East since the conflict started.
Iraq National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji condemned the strike as an infringement of sovereignty.
"We are very astonished by what happened because the Iraqi government was not informed," he said.
In protest to the strike, Iraq recalled its envoy from Tehran and summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Baghdad, with the foreign ministry saying Baghdad would take all legal steps against what it called a violation of sovereignty.
The strike, on a residential area near the US consulate in Kurdistan's capital Erbil, was described by Iraqi Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as a "crime against the Kurdish people" in which at least four civilians were killed and six injured.
Multimillionaire Kurdish businessman Peshraw Dizayee and several members of his family were among the dead, killed when at least one rocket crashed into their home, Iraqi security and medical sources said.
Araji denied the house was an Israeli spy center.
"To respond to the claim that there is a Mossad headquarters we visited the place and toured every corner of this house, and everything indicates that it is a family house belonging to an Iraqi businessman from Erbil," he told reporters.
'RECKLESS'
Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hayman said he would not speculate, when asked at a press briefing about Iran's assertion that it struck a Mossad site.
"What I will say is Iran continues to use its proxies to attack Israel on multiple fronts. We condemn Iran's activities, and we call on the international community to stand up in defiance of Iran and call for peace in the region as soon as possible," he said.
Defending the attack, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other countries, but it was Iran's "legitimate right to deter national security threats".
The Guards said the attacks would continue "until avenging the last drops of martyrs' blood", referring to the killing of three members of the Guards in Syria last month who had served as military advisers there.
France and Britain accused Iran of violating Iraq's sovereignty and Washington condemned the attacks as "reckless", while American officials said no US facilities were struck and there were no US casualties.
With reporting by Reuters
