Iran holds some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas reserves, yet millions of Iranians are struggling with energy shortages, inefficient industries, and severe air pollution.
During periods of natural gas shortages, particularly in winter, power plants and industrial facilities have increasingly relied on highly polluting fuels such as mazut, a heavy fuel oil that contributes significantly to air pollution.
The problem is compounded by winter temperature inversions, which trap pollutants near the ground and intensify air pollution in major cities.
These interconnected failures carry enormous human and economic costs. According to Iran’s own Health Ministry, nearly 59,000 deaths were attributed to air pollution in the Iranian year ending March 2025, with an estimated economic loss of $17.2 billion.
Behind this crisis lies nearly 47 years of governance under the Islamic regime that has failed to translate the country’s natural wealth into public health, energy security, and sustainable economic prosperity.
The Islamic Republic has repeatedly subordinated environmental protection and sustainable development to political, ideological, and institutional interests. Decades of inadequate investment, weak regulatory oversight, and a lack of institutional accountability have allowed these systemic failures to persist largely unchecked.
Recently, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi emphasized the environmental damage caused by American and Israeli military strikes. Armed conflicts can undoubtedly cause ecological harm, deserving independent scientific investigation.
But Iran’s environmental and energy crises long predate these conflicts. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been a major contributor to Iran’s environmental degradation through its extensive military and economic activities, including environmentally destructive infrastructure projects, encroachment into ecologically protected areas, and activities that have undermined independent environmental oversight.
Environmental accountability cannot be selective. A regime that has spent nearly 47 years exploiting Iran’s natural resources to serve its political and ideological interests cannot credibly portray itself as a defender of the environment while ignoring the destruction associated with its own policies.
Redefining national prosperity
Iran’s energy insecurity and environmental deterioration are closely connected. Inefficient electricity generation, aging infrastructure, inadequate natural gas management, and the combustion of highly polluting fuels contribute to the pollution crisis while undermining industrial productivity.
Iran’s natural resources should serve its people rather than sustain institutional inefficiency and political privilege. Achieving that transformation…
Read More: Iran’s energy crisis and pollution demand a new path to prosperity
