Iranians have told the BBC about the moment several oil depots were hit by strikes overnight, as the US and Israel continue their attack on the country.
One resident said “it was as if night had turned into day”.
Fuel depots were hit in Tehran and Karaj, west of the capital, according to local news agencies, citing a source in Iran’s oil ministry.
Video showed a street on fire in Tehran near one depot, where a man could be heard saying shops and homes were ablaze.
“Karaj was calm for a day but now it’s turned wild again – they’ve blown it up,” one resident told the BBC.
Another man in his 30s from Karaj said “it started with a red light that lit up everything followed by a wave that jolted the door”.
“Then the sky was lit again and a huge red cloud appeared. We didn’t know what was happening,” he said, adding that he went up to his rooftop and saw the local oil depot on fire.
The BBC is not revealing the identities of the Iranians we speak to for their own protection.
Iranian authorities have said they are monitoring air quality in the capital and have asked residents to stay at home.
Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said the strikes “are releasing hazardous materials and toxic substances into the air”, which are “endangering lives on a massive scale”.
A woman from Tehran said the city was covered in smoke.
“You can smell the burning. I can’t see the sun. There is a horrible smoke. It’s still there, I’m very tired.”
Another man from Karaj said the strike on the depot caused a “huge explosion and it was on fire for hours”.
The US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which began with the assassination of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are now in their second week. Iran has responded by launching its own strikes at US allies and assets across the region.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as his successor.
US President Donald Trump has justified attacking Iran by saying its government posed an imminent threat to the United States, citing Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
But some Iranians in Tehran told the BBC that they still supported the strikes.
“We the people have taken refuge in our homes and are eagerly awaiting the destruction of the government so we can take to the streets like we did before,” one man in his 20s from Tehran said.
He said that state television has been warning that anyone who “speaks or acts in favour” of the US, Israel or Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, “will be killed”.
Another woman in Tehran said the war was “terrifying” but said that it was a price worth paying for removing the current regime.
“Maybe it’s hard to understand for people who aren’t here, but for ordinary people there really was no other choice. Otherwise, believe me, we wouldn’t want to pay such a huge price for war.”
“Iranians aren’t warmongers or foolish – they’ve just suffered so much that they’ve reached their limit, and all they want is a normal life.”
But another woman from Tehran feared what they could face if the war ends with the current regime still in power.
“Even if the war ends and we survive alive… I’m sure the costs will be very high and it will be worse than before for a long time. Especially if these remain in power,” she said.
“I can’t even tell who would take power.”
BBC
