Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday, 11 October 2026 declared that US-Israeli military strikes on Iran's oil, refinery, and energy facilities during the 40-day war have generated serious environmental hazards — a charge he levelled at an international conference in Tehran backed by findings from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Key Declarations at the Tehran Conference

Speaking at the International Conference on 'Ecocide, A Silent War Crime', Araghchi stated that fires and the burning of hydrocarbon materials triggered by the attacks released dangerous chemical compounds, as confirmed by the UNEP. He warned that the released pollutants can travel through air to soil and water, potentially entering the food chain, and stressed that their impacts 'can outlast both the time and place of the attack.'

Araghchi also pointed to what he described as the 'deep and persistent' environmental toll of military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, arguing that international law must not ignore wartime destruction of the environment and fundamental human rights.

Trump's Conditions for Ending US Military Involvement

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump signalled that American military engagement in Iran could end — but only with firm guarantees that Tehran would never acquire nuclear weapons. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a campaign rally in Tennessee, Trump said: 'We could leave right now, but we have to guarantee that they can't have it in the future. And we'll get that.'

When asked why he would not declare outright victory after claiming US operations had prevented Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Trump said the threat had to be permanently contained: 'Because I have to keep it that way. I don't want to do it in two years. We have to have a guarantee that they won't have it in the future.'

Seven Months In: Casualties and Claims

Trump earlier addressed supporters in Clarksville, Tennessee, presenting the military campaign as a major achievement of his administration while acknowledging American losses. He noted the conflict had stretched for nearly seven months, contrasting its duration and casualties with earlier American wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan. 'We have wounded, but we've stopped them from having a nuclear weapon,' he told supporters, referencing 18 American personnel he said had been killed in the conflict.

The Ecocide Dimension: What Experts Are Watching

The framing of environmental destruction as a 'silent war crime' marks a significant escalation in how Iran is choosing to prosecute its case on the international stage. The UNEP's reported confirmation of hazardous chemical releases from the burning of hydrocarbons adds institutional weight to Tehran's narrative. Notably, international legal frameworks on 'ecocide' remain nascent — no binding global treaty yet criminalises large-scale environmental damage during armed conflict — which means Iran's push at conferences like this one is as much about norm-building as immediate accountability.

What Comes Next

With Trump publicly suggesting the seven-month conflict 'could soon come to an end' while simultaneously insisting on nuclear guarantees, the contours of a potential endgame are beginning to emerge — though significant gaps between Washington's conditions and Tehran's position remain. Diplomatic observers will closely track whether any formal framework for nuclear verification is proposed, and whether the environmental damage claims raised by Araghchi are taken up at UN forums.