The Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences draws attention to a commentary entitled “Environmental consequences of the attack on Iran“, which was published by the daily Pravda (in the Opinions section) and its author is the director of the institute, doc. Richard Stahel (Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences).
“The consequences of the arbitrary aggression of the United States of America and Israel against Iran are not only political and economic, but it is already clear that they are also humanitarian and environmental,” says Richard Stahel (Institute of Philosophy of the Slovak Academy of Sciences) in the article.
The missile strikes were to hit not only political and military targets, but also civilian objects (such as schools and hospitals), as well as oil depots, tankers and other oil industry facilities. In the text, he mentions fires at refineries, tankers and oil storage facilities, which, according to him, increase greenhouse gas emissions and bring toxic substances into the air. As an example, he describes the phenomenon of “black drops” around Tehran, which he links to toxic compounds in precipitation.
Stahel further writes that air, soil and water pollution can spread beyond the immediately affected areas. It points out that Iran’s retaliatory strikes were intended to hit refineries in the region and that both polluting particles and oil-contaminated seawater can be spread by wind and ocean currents.
It pays particular attention to attacks on desalination facilities (water infrastructure), which, according to the commentary, are an important source of drinking and service water in the Gulf countries. According to available data, around 70% of drinking water in Saudi Arabia comes from desalination, almost 90% in the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar is virtually dependent on desalination.
In conclusion, he recalls that the destruction of environmental resources has occurred repeatedly in the history of conflicts, and argues that in the conditions of ongoing climate change, such interventions may have wider consequences, including population displacement.
The commentary is freely available here: https://nazory.pravda.sk/dnes-pise/clanok/791581-environmentalne-dosledky-utoku-na-iran/
