TEHRAN — Iran has launched a comprehensive legal and technical inquiry into the extensive environmental degradation caused by the recent American-Israeli campaign of aggression, characterizing the strikes as a calculated assault on the nation's ecological health and natural heritage.

In a detailed assessment released on March 28, Shina Ansari, the head of the Department of Environment, said that vital infrastructure across multiple sectors has been compromised.

She emphasized that the war has left a lasting scar on the country’s protected lands and industrial heartlands, describing the damage as a core component of the enemy's hostile agenda.

The environmental chief provided a grim inventory of the structural damage sustained by the nation’s administrative and personnel networks.

She noted that several provincial and county-level offices were either damaged or completely destroyed since Washington and Tel Aviv began their campaign of aggression on February 28.

Specifically, environmental protection offices in the counties of Dehaqan (central Isfahan province), Salmas (northwestern West Azarbaijan province), Bonab and Osku (northwestern East Azarbaijan province), alongside the Environmental Training Center in the Geno Protected Area (southern Hormozgan province), have suffered significant structural damage.

Despite these setbacks, she said that her organization had successfully relocated personnel to nearby administrative hubs, ensuring that there was "no interruption in the provision of organizational services."

Beyond administrative infrastructure, the aggression has penetrated deep into Iran’s sovereign natural reserves.

Military strikes have scarred portions of the country’s protected areas, which are strictly managed to preserve unique biodiversity.

Ansari highlighted the Sefidkouh protected area in western Lorestan province and the Haftad Gholleh protected area in central Markazi province as regions that sustained "significant damage to natural arenas and biodiversity."

She said that a team of specialists is currently engaged in a precise technical evaluation of these losses.

These findings are being compiled into a formal legal dossier to be presented to competent international jurisdictions, as Tehran moves to demand global accountability and reparations for what it deems environmental crimes.

The maritime domain has faced similarly acute challenges, with recent events threatening the delicate balance of Iran’s coastal ecosystems.

In the northern province of Gilan, a missile strike on a frigate moored near Bandar Anzali led to a significant discharge of diesel fuel and lubricants into the Caspian Sea. 

Ansari warned that this spill has not only degraded sensitive shoreline habitats but has also directly harmed local aquatic species.

The situation in the south is equally concerning, where marine habitats have been the target of repeated strikes.

These actions have inflicted widespread harm on both marine and terrestrial biodiversity, the full scope of which is still being meticulously documented by technical observers on the ground.

The assault on Iran’s economic and industrial backbone has also triggered a secondary crisis of atmospheric pollution.

Ansari specifically pointed to the refineries within the South Pars Special Economic Energy Zone—namely phases three, four, five, and six—as having been hit by "barbaric" targeted strikes.

The destruction of storage tanks at these sites caused the massive release of hazardous pollutants, including carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and various suspended particulates.

The top environmental official added that operational requirements following the attacks forced a sharp increase in flaring, which further compounded the toxic burden on the region’s air quality.

Despite the intensity of the war, she said that the Department of Environment has maintained its stewardship through a robust framework of passive defense.

Ansari explained that the organization had preemptively issued a comprehensive "Manual for Environmental Protection Before and After Military Threats" to all its branches.

This strategy was bolstered by insights gained from documenting environmental damages during the 12-day war in June 2025, ensuring that the government remained prepared to handle ecological emergencies.

Ansari concluded her statement by praising the resilience of the department’s workforce, noting that managers and executive staff maintained a "full-scale presence" to protect managed areas even throughout the holidays and the height of the war.