Oil is visible around Iran’s Lavan Island in a satellite image taken on April 10 (Image: Sentinel-1/European Space Agency)
Satellite imagery has revealed an oil spill in Iran visible from space, as US-Israeli strikes continue to target oil production facilities and infrastructure across the region.
A two-week ceasefire is set to expire on Wednesday and tensions are set to rise further without any agreement. On Monday morning the President… donald trump Warned that “a lot of bombs” would start going off if no deal was reached before the deadline.
The Iran conflict has had a devastating impact globally. About 3,375 people have been killed in Iran since hostilities began, according to officials, while 23 have been killed in Israel, more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and 13 US service members have also lost their lives. Beyond the human cost, the conflict has led to economic turmoil, with oil prices rising, and environmental destruction now accelerating.
Satellite images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1, taken earlier this month, highlight the scale of the devastation. A photo from April 7 shows an oil spill stretching up to five miles into the Strait of Hormuz near Iran’s Qeshm Island.
Greenpeace Germany spokeswoman Nina Noel told CNN that an Iranian ship spilled oil at the same location after being attacked by US forces. Further photographs captured an oil rig near Lavan Island, following Iranian state media reports that an oil facility close to the island’s coastline was attacked on 7 April.
Noel explained to the publication that an oil spill could cause serious consequences, “affecting entire ecosystems, from microorganisms to fish, birds and sea turtles that depend on mangrove habitats.”
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How badly did Trump’s war affect Iran?
Another photo taken on 6 April showed oil pollution on a beach in Kuwait. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed it had attacked facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as petrochemical plants in Kuwait on 5 April.
According to Reuters, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation recorded “severe material damage” after an Iranian drone strike caused fires at its facilities, Mirror US reports.
Greenpeace’s Noel told CNN that cleanup efforts for the Gulf oil spill will prove exceptionally demanding and potentially impossible due to “structural complexity, limited access and challenging working conditions.”
Oil off the coast of Kuwait, as seen in images from April 6 (Image: Sentinel-1/European Space Agency)
What is the environmental impact of oil spills?
The ecological disaster arising from the Iran conflict has caused widespread global concern. On March 13, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) issued a statement warning that “the heavy smoke from burning oil, which contains hazardous compounds, is now being inhaled directly by people – including young children – in Iran, raising serious concerns about long-term impacts on both human and environmental health.”
“Pollution from uncontrolled fires can also enter soil and water, leach into groundwater and be absorbed by crops, contaminating food supplies,” the UNEP team added. “Oil spills have also been reported in marine areas, further impacting the health of coastal communities.”
In an X post on March 15, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi argued that Israeli airstrikes targeting fuel depots in Tehran “violate international law and cause ecological destruction.”
Satellite images taken from space show oil spill in the Persian Gulf due to Iran war (Image: Sentinel-1/European Space Agency)
Are Iranians suffering losses due to the war?
The attacks targeting these facilities on March 7 covered Tehran’s skies in thick smoke filled with dangerous pollutants, including soot, oil particles and sulfur dioxide. That same day, a storm deposited oil-contaminated rainwater across the city.
The CDC warns that exposure to sulfur dioxide can cause damage to the nose, eyes, throat and lungs. Inhaling high amounts can cause lung inflammation and respiratory difficulties, while skin contact with sulfur dioxide vapors can cause irritation or burns. Chronic exposure over a long period of time can cause permanent damage to the lungs, potentially leading to asthma, pneumonia and bronchitis.
Drawing attention to the serious health impacts for Tehran residents, Araghchi wrote, “Residents face long-term harm to their health and well-being. Contamination of soil and groundwater could have impacts that last for generations.”
