Amid worsening air pollution, the Iranian regime’s reliance on burning mazut fuel in power plants has created a public health and environmental disaster, endangering millions of citizens. Instead of addressing the crisis, regime officials continue to remain silent, deny responsibility, or obscure key statistics.
Mazut, a low-quality heavy fuel oil with sulfur content of 3.5 percent—seven times higher than the global standard—has been increasingly consumed in Iranian power plants. Experts warn that this toxic practice is accelerating health crises, damaging equipment, and intensifying the strain on the country’s already failing electricity grid.
Energy Ministry Confirms Fuel Shortages
On Tuesday, September 2, Abbas Aliabadi, the regime’s Minister of Energy, admitted during an open session of Parliament that severe fuel shortages had forced power plants to burn highly polluting diesel fuel. He acknowledged that this policy “damaged equipment, reduced efficiency, and increased environmental costs.”
Aliabadi further revealed that in the summer of 2024, Iran’s electricity shortage reached an unprecedented 20,000 megawatts, while more than 15,000 megawatts of existing capacity had been exhausted. This deepening crisis, he said, made it even harder to maintain or repair power plants.
Health Catastrophe in Tehran and Beyond
Burning mazut and diesel fuel has left residents of Tehran and other major cities facing record levels of toxic air. According to the deputy head of the Air Quality Research Center, at least 7,342 people died in Tehran in 2024 from long-term exposure to particulate matter caused by pollution.
The concentration of suspended particles averaged 33 micrograms per cubic meter in 2024, up from 31 micrograms in 2023, directly correlating with increased mortality.
Statistics from previous years also highlight the deadly trend. In 2021, a Tehran City Council member confirmed that more than 6,398 people died from air pollution. On August 15, 2025, the state-run Etemad newspaper reported that nationwide deaths linked to pollution in 2024 reached 35,540 at minimum, with estimates as high as 46,000.
The report further detailed that:
- 14.66% of deaths were caused by heart disease,
- 15% by stroke,
- 14.4% by lung cancer, and
- 11% by chronic lung diseases.
Systemic Mismanagement and Concealed Toll
Despite the staggering death toll, officials persist in burning mazut, disregarding both domestic and international fuel standards. The Iranian Standards Organization itself sets the acceptable sulfur level in fuel oil at 0.8 percent, while global standards are just 0.5 percent. Iran’s mazut contains more than four times the domestic limit.
Former National Iranian Gas Company CEO Saeed Tavakoli admitted that in 2024 “all Iranian power plants burned mazut,” underscoring the scale of the regime’s reliance on the toxic fuel.
Successive governments in Iran have failed to address the country’s chronic energy crisis, repeatedly resorting to burning mazut and diesel, especially during autumn and winter. This failure has compounded health risks, raised mortality, and sparked accusations of deliberate cover-ups.
A Hidden Disaster
The Iranian regime’s concealment of accurate pollution statistics has fueled growing fears that the true human toll is even higher than reported. With tens of thousands of lives lost each year, the widespread use of mazut represents not just an environmental threat but a preventable public health catastrophe.
