Iran president says conflict in Mideast amounts to 'ecocide'

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called “ecocide” in the Middle East, caused by “wars of aggression”.

He spoke at a nature summit in Armenia attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

What did Pezeshkian say about ecocide in the Middle East?

Pezeshkian said the conflicts in Gaza and the wider Middle East had inflicted a significant toll on nature that extended beyond borders and required “international solutions”. He said the damage amounted to “ecocide, or environmental genocide”, and that it “must be condemned”.

“What has occurred in our region as a result of wars of aggression is ecocide, or environmental genocide, and it must be condemned,” he told the summit.

What did Pezeshkian say about the US blockade of Iran?

His remarks came as Iran faces an intensifying confrontation with the United States, with Tehran accusing Washington of using economic pressure to fuel domestic discontent. On Thursday, Pezeshkian said Iran was facing its most severe blockade since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He accused the United States of seeking to trigger public protests by worsening economic hardship.

“Over the 48 years since the Revolution, we have never faced such intense blockade, war and difficulties as we are facing now,” he said in a speech broadcast by Iranian state television. He accused Washington of deliberately making life harder for Iranians to provoke unrest and advance its political objectives.

The United States imposed a blockade on Iranian ports after Tehran closed the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, disrupting maritime traffic to and from the country.

Why did protests erupt across Iran?

Protests initially sparked by the rising cost of living erupted across Iran in late December last year before developing into a broader anti-government movement. Iranian authorities blamed the United States and Israel for the unrest.

Iran has also repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest at home. Authorities have executed several Iranians in recent months who were accused of collaborating with Tehran’s adversaries.