Middle East: All parties to the conflict must refrain from unlawful attacks on energy infrastructure

Israel, the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran must immediately cease or refrain from unlawful attacks on energy infrastructure, including facilities providing essential services such as electricity, heating and running water, said Amnesty International today, highlighting the risks of devastating civilian harm and environmental impact posed by such attacks.

In recent days Israeli-US air strikes have targeted multiple fuel storage and distribution facilities in Iran, and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military has carried out attacks affecting fuel depots and oil and gas infrastructure in multiple Gulf states.

“The potential for vast, predictable, and devastating civilian harm arising from strikes targeting energy infrastructure, including uncontrolled deadly fires, major disruptions to essential services, environmental damage, and severe long-term health risks for millions, means there is a substantial risk such attacks would violate international humanitarian law and in some cases could amount to war crimes,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Regardless of whether a military objective is cited to justify targeting energy infrastructure, under international humanitarian law all parties have a clear obligation to take all feasible precautions to reduce civilian harm and refrain from attacks that cause disproportionate death or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects. This includes any foreseeable knock-on, indirect adverse effects on civilians’ life and health such as exposure to toxic chemicals.”

The potential for vast, predictable, and devastating civilian harm arising from strikes targeting energy infrastructure…means there is a substantial risk such attacks would violate international humanitarian law
Heba Morayef, MENA Regional Director

Under international humanitarian law, an oil refinery can be targeted only if it qualifies as a military objective, meaning it is being used to make an effective contribution to military action – for example by producing fuel for the attacking armed forces – and damaging it would yield a definite military advantage in the circumstances ruling at the time. Even if those two prerequisites exist, the attacking party must take all feasible precautions to avoid or minimize collateral damage to civilians, such as the release of toxic substances, and, before striking, consider whether any such damage would be excessive to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.

Attacks on oil depots in Iran

In Iran, horrifying video footage of the aftermath of Israeli-US attacks on several fuel depots, including in the neighborhoods of Shahran, Sohanak and Kouhak in Tehran and the city of Shahr-e Rey in Tehran province and Fardis in Alborz province, on 7 March shows massive flames and plumes of thick black smoke rising, as well as large uncontrolled fires damaging civilian areas. Eyewitnesses also described to Amnesty International chilling scenes of oil-tainted rainfall.

After the attacks Iran’s environmental agency and the Iranian Red Crescent Society advised people in Tehran to stay indoors warning of the risks posed by the spread of toxic chemicals that could cause acid rain as a result of the air strikes.

The Israeli military has issued a statement confirming they carried out attacks on “a number of fuel storage facilities in Tehran”, saying they were used by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military “to operate military infrastructure”.

“We are deeply alarmed at the potential impact of these attacks on the civilian population. Medical warnings about hazardous materials and toxic substances being released into the air, put millions of people in Tehran at risk of serious health complications, including cancer, lung and respiratory diseases and skin burns. States are bound to uphold social and economic rights during both peacetime and armed conflict,” said Heba Morayef.

An informed source in Tehran told Amnesty International that residential buildings around the oil depots in Shahran were damaged, leaving some people homeless.

An eyewitness told Amnesty International “The sky over Tehran was black today [8 March]. Then black rain started to fall. The ground everywhere has turned black, as if a layer of light cement had been poured over.”

Another eyewitness said on 8 March “This morning, the air was pitch black. It is daytime, but it’s dark like night. The city is full of soot. I went outside. It was raining a little, and my hands became black immediately. Soot is falling from the sky. It is terrifying.”

On 8 March, the Political Deputy Provincial Governor of Alborz province, Ghodratollah Seif, announced that the strike on the oil depot in Fardis killed at least six people and injured 21 others, including nearby residents. On 9 March, the president of Alborz University of Medical Sciences said that a dialysis center near the oil depot in Fardis was destroyed in the ensuing fire.

Attacks on energy infrastructure in Iran risk compounding the suffering of a population traumatized by massacres at the hands of the Islamic Republic authorities and who have already endured years of declining access to electricity, water, clean air, and a safe environment due to chronic state mismanagement and systemic violation of the people’s human right to take part in public affairs. These grievances, along with severe political repression, have been at the heart of successive nationwide protests, including most recently in January 2026, demanding human rights, dignity, and downfall of the Islamic Republic system.

Attacks on oil infrastructure in Gulf countries

Since 28 February, multiple attacks affecting energy infrastructure have been reported in Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said that its forces are “attacking American bases, American installations, American assets” that were “unfortunately” based in their Gulf neighbouring countries, while the head of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Balifar, proclaimed that “as long as US bases exist in the region, countries will not see calm”.

Officials from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait have said that Iranian drones and missiles have directly targeted oil and gas facilities in Gulf states, and that in other cases debris from intercepted attacks affected facilities. Governments across the Gulf severely restrict access to information and expression, which impedes reporting on the direct effects of attacks.

In Qatar, on 2 March, Qatari Ministry of Defence stated that Iranian drones had targeted energy facilities in the Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar’s main liquefied natural gas (LNG) export hub, but no casualties were reported. Following the attack, Qatar Energy suspended LNG production and declared force majeure, according to Reuters and Bloomberg News citing informed sources .

On 7 March, the Saudi Ministry of Defence announced that 21 drones headed toward Aramco’s Shaybah field, one the Kingdom’s largest oil fields, and includes facilities that produce natural gas liquids used in the petrochemical industry, in several waves were intercepted and destroyed in the Empty Quarter.

In Kuwait, on 7 March, a spokesperson for the Kuwait Ministry of Defence said that drones targeted fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport.

In Oman, on 1 March, state media reported that two drones struck the commercial port in Duqm on the eastern coast, injuring one foreign worker. On 2 March, state media stated that a drone strike targeted an oil tanker off the coast of Muscat, killing one Indian crew member.

Fires have broken out at a number of facilities, which officials speaking to the media have attributed either to missile attacks or debris from drone interceptions. In some cases, state-owned fossil fuel companies have reported suspending production or shipments after attacks.

In Bahrain, on 5 March, a fire broke out in one of the refinery units of the state-owned Bapco Energies as a result of an Iranian missile attack, according to Bahrain News Agency. The company declared force majeure on its oil shipments.

In Saudi Arabia, on 2 March, the Saudi Ministry of Defense stated that two drones attempting to target the Saudi Aramco Ras Tanura oil refinery in the Eastern Province were intercepted, and the falling debris ignited a fire inside the facility.

In the UAE, on 10 March a fire broke out at Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi following a drone attack, according to Reuters. Fires also broke out at Musaffah fuel tank terminal on 2 March after it was targeted by a drone and at an oil industry zone in Fujairah on 3 March, after debris from a drone interception caused a fire.

On 9 March, the official Kuwait News Agency reported that drone debris caused a fire in a fuel tank at Al Subiya power plant.

In addition to attacks on the Gulf states, commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has come to an almost complete halt. On 10 March, the High Commissioner for Human Rights warned that the plunge in commercial shipping was already having a severe impact on access to “energy, food and fertilizer for people in the region and beyond,” and that an oil price surge would have economic and social knock-on effects. He once again called for investment in renewable energy.

“Attacks on or severely affecting fuel supply and distribution networks can trigger food insecurity, as these systems currently play a critical role in transportation, the goods supply chain, and industrial activity. All parties must ensure they are refraining from any unlawful attacks and place the protection of civilians at the forefront of all military decisions,” said Heba Morayef.

Background

According to Iranian officials, at least 1,255 people have been killed in Iran since 28 February when US-Israeli attacks began. At least 17 people have been killed in the Gulf since Iran began its attacks on Gulf countries (two in Bahrain; six in Kuwait; one person in Oman; two in Saudi Arabia; and six in the UAE). Eleven out of the 17 people are foreign nationals from India, Iran, Indonesia and Bangladesh amongst other countries residing in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain according to official state media reports. A least 570 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon according to the authorities. At least 12 people have been killed by attacks in Israel according to media reports.