Residents of the Iranian capital woke up feeling like it was still the middle of the night as black smoke invaded the city
An almost apocalyptic scenario took over Tehran this Sunday (8). Residents of the Iranian capital woke up feeling like it was still the middle of the night, when a thick black smoke coming from attacked fuel depots left the city in darkness.
“When I woke up, I thought there was a problem,” a driver in his 50s told AFP. Many inhabitants reported the same feeling when faced with the darkened sky, which forced residents to turn on the lights in the middle of the morning.
At around 10:30 am (7 am in Brasília), vehicles were still driving with their headlights on on Valiasr Avenue, a 17-kilometer road that runs through Tehran from north to south.
The rainy weather and dense clouds further increased the feeling of confusion. They mixed with great columns of black smoke. from the burned storage sites.
The smoke spread across much of the city, a metropolis stretching for dozens of kilometers. The scenario gave the capital a apocalyptic appearance, with a strong smell of burning in some neighborhoodson the ninth day of the war triggered by attacks from Israel and the United States.
This was the first time since the start of the conflict that Iran’s oil infrastructure was attacked. Four depots and a logistics center for petroleum products in and around Tehran were hit by shelling, which left at least 6 dead and 20 injuredaccording to authorities.
In one of the fuel depots hit in the capital, oil continued to burn. AFP saw flames still intensifying more than 12 hours after the Israeli bombings.
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On the outskirts of the warehouse, security forces who wore masks and waterproof capes to protect themselves from toxic emissions controlled circulation.
Authorities warned that the gases released could “cause irritation to the respiratory tract and eyes”, and asked residents to stay at home.
According to the Iranian Red Crescent, “large quantities of toxic hydrocarbons, sulfur and nitrogen oxides” were released into the atmosphere. Glass in nearby residential buildings shattered in the explosions.
The governor of Tehran province, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, reported in the morning that the gasoline distribution had been “temporarily interrupted”, but asked the population not to worry.
Supply was limited to 20 liters per vehicle. Long queues formed today at gas stations in the capital.
In June, during the previous war, about 6 million residents left Tehran, city of more than 10 million inhabitants, according to local media. This time, the majority remained. The UN estimates that around 100,000 people have left the city.
*AFP
