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Thick black clouds blanketed Tehran after oil facilities in Iran's capital city were hit by Israeli strikes Saturday (March 7), the apparent first attack on Iran's energy infrastructure since 'Operation Epic Fury' launched one week prior, the California Post reports.
Black rain water saturated with oil covered rooftops and streets, while photos showed large black clouds during the aftermath of the attacks. The Iranian Red Crescent warned that overnight explosions targeting oil deposits released “significant quantities of toxic hydrocarbon compounds, sulfur, and nitrogen oxides."
“In the event of precipitation, the resulting rain is extremely dangerous and highly acidic,” officials warned, noting that exposure to the substance could potentially result in skin burns and severe lung damage.
A series of airstrikes hitting four oil storage facilities and a production center in Tehran and Alborz resulted in the city being covered in oil, Iran's Fars news agency reported. Video from the strikes showed pillars of fire rise into the sky and light up Tehran as bombs killed four tanker drivers, according to Fars.
The Israel Defense Forces took credit for the attack, claiming they were targeting “the military infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime.”
“The military forces of the Iranian terror regime make direct and frequent use of these fuel tanks to operate military infrastructure,” the IDF said in a statement obtained by the California Post.