In recent years, Iran’s population has been grappling with numerous environmental crises stemming from the regime’s irresponsible and perilous policies. One such crisis is the escalating air pollution, which has engendered a toxic atmosphere in many cities across the country.
Despite a staggering 90% increase in deaths attributed to air pollution and the exacerbation of this crisis through Mazut burning in power plants, the regime’s Ministry of Oil has requested the government’s approval to ‘postpone the implementation of fuel standards for five years.’
In effect, this proposal would allow the continued production and distribution of fuel, particularly hazardous and non-standard gasoline, until 2029.
On Sunday, January 14, the Iran Didban website brought to light a revelation by publishing letters from the Ministry of Oil. These letters indicate that the ministry has extended the deferment of the implementation of fuel production standards, including those for gasoline, until 2029.
Regime officials, including those from the Ministry of Oil, have yet to provide an explanation regarding the duration of the delay in ‘fuel production standards,’ particularly for gasoline. However, the recent escalation of pollution in numerous cities in the past months is shedding light on this reality.
Multiple reports have surfaced, indicating that the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company is supplying hazardous and non-standard gasoline for petrochemical production.
The severity of air pollution has expanded to such an extent that it is no longer confined to the capital and major cities; it has also affected small towns in various provinces of Iran.
Mohsen Pirhadi, the head of the urban management faction of the 11th Parliament, disclosed in an interview with Khaneye Mellat, the official news agency of the regime’s Parliament, a staggering nearly 90 percent surge in deaths attributed to air pollution within a span of one year.
Pirhadi expressed concern, stating, ‘What is particularly troubling when assessing the repercussions of persistent unhealthy air in the country’s metropolises is the comparison of death statistics caused by this issue between the years 2020 and 2021. This figure has surged from 11,000 people in 2020 to over 20,000 in 2021.’
Various reports indicate that the annual toll of air pollution victims in Iran is nearly 46,000, equivalent to at least 10% of the annual deaths in the country.
On November 28, Bahram Eynollahi, the Minister of Health and Medical Education, highlighted the gravity of ‘deaths caused by air pollution’ in Iran, revealing that approximately ‘26,000 people in the country, and 7,000 people in Tehran’ succumb to air pollution each year.
The majority of these fatalities result from the lethal impacts of non-standard fuel production and distribution, exacerbating air pollution across different regions of Iran.
In recent years, not only have pollution sources failed to decrease, but they have also increased. According to regime officials, only 38% of the gasoline produced in the country adheres to Euro 4 and 5 standards.
The production and supply of non-standard fuel persist unabated, concurrently with fuel consumption in power plants, industry, automobiles, engine houses, heating and cooling systems.
Compounded by the lack of renovation and development in public transportation, the absence of construction of renewable power plants, and the continuous traffic of millions of worn-out cars and motorcycles, this leads to the accumulation of pollutants.
These cumulative effects surpass the air conditioning capacity, hindering the dispersion of pollution by the wind.
Jafar Tashakori Hashemi, head of the Civil and Transportation Commission of Tehran City Council, affirmed that ‘only 38% of gasoline meets the standard, while the remainder is produced outside the standard.’
The magnitude of fuel production and supply, particularly non-standard gasoline, is so extensive that Malek Shariati, a member of the Energy Commission of the parliament, acknowledged in a television program last November that the Ministry of Oil distributes low-quality gasoline to meet the high demand.
He also verified the distribution of gasoline returned by the Taliban in various cities of Iran, emphasizing that gasoline sent back by the Afghan Taliban due to low quality is being circulated in some urban areas.
Beyond the production and distribution of non-standard fuel and gasoline, the regime’s use of mazut in power plants is another contributing factor to the escalation of air pollution and the rise in the number of deaths.
According to regime officials, power plants such as Iranshahr, Montazer Qaem, Rajaei, Ramin, Kerman, Montazeri, Sahand, Tabriz, Zarand, Bandar Abbas, Tous, Mofateh, and Shazand burned mazut in the last year.
The decision to postpone the implementation of fuel and gasoline production standards for another five years indicates that, despite the growing death toll from air pollution, the regime’s authorities lack practical measures to address air pollution for at least the next five years.
