Sky over Tehran covered in thick smoke after strikes on oil depots, black rain reported

The sky over the Iranian capital Tehran was covered in thick black smoke on Sunday 8 March after Israeli strikes on oil storage facilities. The rain was so saturated with oil that it turned black.

Source: a CNN correspondent; Reuters, citing eyewitnesses

Details: CNN reports that Tehran's nearly 10 million residents woke up to thick black clouds and black oil-filled rain this morning after Israeli forces struck Iranian oil storage sites.

The CNN team witnessed thick black plumes of smoke rising from a fire at the Shahran oil depot in northeast Tehran, one of Iran's largest fuel storage facilities. Several tanks were still burning hours after the nighttime airstrikes.

The black rain that fell on Iran's capital may be "dangerous" to people's health, a weather expert told CNN.

The Red Crescent urged people to stay indoors even after the rain stopped, saying the air could be dangerous to breathe.

Reuters has also reported, citing local residents, that thick, suffocating black smoke hung over Tehran on Sunday after the strikes on oil storage facilities.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei stated that the large-scale attack represents a "dangerous new phase" in the conflict and constitutes a war crime.

"By targeting fuel depots, the aggressors are releasing hazardous materials and toxic substances into the air, poisoning civilians, devastating the environment and endangering lives on a massive scale," he said on X (Twitter).

Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters that the storage facilities were used to supply Iran's military needs, including the production and storage of fuel for ballistic missiles.

"They are a legal military target," he stressed.

Shortly after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government will continue the assault and strike Iranian leaders "without mercy".

Quote: "We have an organised plan with many surprises to destabilise the regime and enable change. We have many targets."

Background: On the night of 6-7 March, Israeli forces launched large-scale airstrikes on several Iranian fuel facilities, causing fires and a series of explosions in Tehran and nearby Karaj.

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