Iran's Clean Air Law and urban air pollution in Tehran and Ahvaz
- My air in Tehran averaged 32.9 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic metre in 1403 and exceeded the guideline on 350 days, according to the Health Ministry. Zoomit
- Tehran had 114 polluted days in 1400 and 170 in 1401, according to the Tehran judiciary. Mehr News Agency
- The Article 90 Commission recorded unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups days in Tehran rising from 89 in 1399 to 115 in 1401. Mizan (Judiciary news agency)
- About 58,975 people died.Attributed to PM2.5, Iranian year 1403 (March 2024 to March 2025), Health Ministry; about 161 a day.
- About 20,837 people died.Iranian year 1400, studied cities, Article 90 Commission.
- Government and regulators Article 90 Commission (27 June 2023): About 20,837 attributable deaths in 1400 in the studied cities. Mizan (Judiciary news agency)
- Government and regulators Health Ministry (10 November 2025): About 58,975 deaths among people over 30 attributed to PM2.5 in 1403. Zoomit
- Government and regulators Article 90 Commission: 115 unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups days in 1401, up from 89 in 1399. Mizan (Judiciary news agency)
- Courts Tehran Province Judiciary: 114 polluted days in 1400 and 170 in 1401. Mehr News Agency
A parliamentary commission found 22 of the 2017 Clean Air Law's 57 articles weakly implemented in 2023. The Health Ministry attributed 58,975 deaths among people over 30 to PM2.5 in the Iranian year 1403 and put the economic loss at about US$17.2 billion; the head of the Tehran Province Judiciary said five former managers were convicted of dereliction of duty under the law.
People over 30, about 161 a day, with an economic loss of about US$17.2 billion (US$47 million a day). Report released 10 November 2025.
Status As of November 2025: the Health Ministry's 1403 report attributed 58,975 deaths to PM2.5; five former managers had been reported convicted under the Clean Air Law, with sentences undisclosed.
- Municipalities — Collected green levies and retained Article 38 VAT revenues, often spent elsewhere, according to the Article 90 Commission Mizan (Judiciary news agency)
- Five former managers — Convicted of dereliction of duty under the Clean Air Law, as stated by the head of the Tehran Province Judiciary Mehr News Agency
- Iran (economy) — Economic loss from pollution deaths of about US$17.2 billion in 1403, per the Health Ministry Zoomit
What happened
Iran's Clean Air Law was approved on 25 Tir 1396 (16 July 2017). In August 2023 the Majlis Research Center reviewed the law and its technical regulation: of 56 articles, 22 were weakly implemented, 17 moderately and 17 well; it recommended revising 17 of 34 articles and adding at least 10, and listed 11 structural defects including no funding provisions. The parliamentary Article 90 Commission, in a report presented on 27 June 2023, counted 57 articles, of which 22 were weak, 17 moderate and 18 well implemented. It said the Department of Environment was responsible for 60 provisions and fewer than 10% had been realised, that the Plan and Budget Organization had added a 320 billion rial line late and it was reportedly not used, that the Standards Organization had issued no directive blocking non-standard fuel imports, and that municipalities collected green levies and retained Article 38 VAT revenues but often spent them elsewhere.
The Health Ministry's national air-pollution report for the Iranian year 1403, released on 10 November 2025, attributed about 58,975 deaths among people over 30 to PM2.5, about 161 a day: 23% from ischemic heart disease, 21% lung cancer, 17% COPD, 15% stroke and 13% lower respiratory infections. Annual mean PM2.5 was 42 micrograms per cubic metre in Ahvaz, 34 in Isfahan, 32.9 in Tehran, 32 in Arak, 31 in Karaj and 29 in Mashhad, against 9 in Sanandaj and 11 in Rasht. Days above the WHO 24-hour guideline of 15 micrograms per cubic metre numbered 362 in Ahvaz, 351 in Arak, 350 in Tehran, 348 in Isfahan, 345 in Karaj, 335 in Mashhad, 268 in Qom, 193 in Kermanshah, 189 in Tabriz and 163 in Yazd.
The funding on record is small against the costs stated. RFE/RL and Al-Monitor reported that implementation funding in the budget for the year from March 2023 was cut from US$8 million to US$4 million. The Majlis Research Center said the 1401 budget allocated 288 billion toman for the law, that at least US$1–2 billion a year was needed for four years, and that bus-fleet renewal alone would cost about 500,000 billion toman. The Article 90 Commission put the minimum need at 206,000 billion toman nationwide, with a government share of 41,000 billion toman a year for nine metropolises, about 2.5% of the 1401 general budget. Mohsen Pirhadi, head of the Majlis urban-management faction, put the cost of one day of Tehran shutdown due to pollution at about 100 billion toman on 26 January 2024; the basis was not described.
Ali Alghasi-Mehr, head of the Tehran Province Judiciary, said on 3 December 2023 and 12 January 2025 that five former managers had been convicted of dereliction of duty under the Clean Air Law; sentences were not disclosed. He also said the Department of Environment lacked the authority, staffing and structure to enforce the law, that pollution was not a national priority, and that agencies interpreted the law in their own ways. In November 2025 primary and lower-secondary schools in Khuzestan closed to in-person classes and primary classes in Tehran moved online.
- 2017Clean Air Law approved (16 Jul)
- 2023RFE/RL and Al-Monitor report implementation funding cut from US$8 million to US$4 million; Article 90 Commission report (27 Jun); Majlis Research Center review (14 Aug); Tehran judiciary announces five managers convicted (3 Dec)
- 2024Cost of a Tehran shutdown day put at about 100 billion toman (26 Jan)
- 2025Judiciary head repeats that five managers were convicted (12 Jan); Health Ministry releases the 1403 report on 58,975 deaths (10 Nov); school closures in Khuzestan and Tehran (Nov)
What was said
“its enforcement requires the necessary budget”
“We are denying the people a breath”
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
About 20,837 attributable deaths in 1400 in the studied cities.
Mizan (Judiciary news agency)About 58,975 deaths among people over 30 attributed to PM2.5 in 1403.
Zoomit115 unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups days in 1401, up from 89 in 1399.
Mizan (Judiciary news agency)Of 56 articles, 22 weakly, 17 moderately and 17 well implemented.
EcoiranOf 57 articles, 22 weak, 17 moderate and 18 well implemented.
Mizan (Judiciary news agency)How it looked
Shown
- The law described as 'gathering dust for years', with about 21,000 deaths in 1400 (headline wording)Ecoiran, 14 August 2023, reporting the Majlis Research Center · Ecoiran
Recorded
- Majlis Research Center (14 August 2023): of 56 articles in the law and its technical regulation, 22 weakly implemented, 17 moderately and 17 well; 17 of 34 articles to be revised and at least 10 added; 11 structural defects including no funding provisions.
- Article 90 Commission (27 June 2023): of 57 articles, 22 weak, 17 moderate, 18 well implemented; Department of Environment responsible for 60 provisions with 'fewer than 10%' realised; Tehran unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups days rose from 89 (1399) to 115 (1401).
- The Article 90 Commission stated that violations under Article 234 of the Majlis bylaws were still being pursued with the judicial authority (2023).
- Tehran judiciary: Tehran had 114 polluted days in the Iranian year 1400 and 170 in 1401.
- Health Ministry, national report for 1403: economic loss from pollution deaths about US$17.2 billion, US$47 million a day, about 1,394 thousand billion toman at the NIMA rate.
- Article 90 Commission: about 20,837 attributable deaths in 1400 in the studied cities; economic cost about US$3.11 billion nationally in 1400 and about US$3.4 billion in Tehran (as printed).
- RFE/RL (May 2023): the Tehran Prosecutor's Office charged five unidentified officials with failing to enforce Clean Air Act standards on vehicle emissions, gasoline quality and mazut-fuelled plants.
- The Tehran judiciary's social-affairs office sent 94 letters and warnings to agencies including the Energy Ministry on mazut use since the Iranian year 1402.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- iran-judiciary (12 January 2025): The head of the Tehran Province Judiciary said the Department of Environment lacks the authority, staffing and structure to enforce the law, that pollution is not a national priority and that agencies interpret the law in their own way. · Mehr News Agency
- iran-health-ministry (10 November 2025): Its deputy minister Alireza Raeisi presented the national report attributing about 58,975 deaths to PM2.5 in 1403. · Zoomit
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023–2023Claimant wonTehran prosecution of five former managers over Clean Air Law non-enforcementTehran courts (as stated by the head of the Tehran Province Judiciary) · Criminal · Tehran Prosecutor's Office → Five former managers (not named in the sources)
RFE/RL reported in May 2023 that the Tehran Prosecutor's Office had charged five unidentified officials. Ali Alghasi-Mehr, head of the Tehran Province Judiciary, said on 3 December 2023 and 12 January 2025 that five former managers had been indicted for abuse of position and convicted of dereliction of duty; sentences were not disclosed. Mehr News Agency
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
Money
- None on record Priced damage to ecosystems from urban air pollution — The figures on record are health and closure costs.
Accounts
- Disputed How much of the law has been implemented
Record
- Disputed Figures differ: deaths attributed to air pollution were 20,837 in 1400 in the studied cities (Article 90 Commission) and 58,975 in 1403 nationally for people over 30 (Health Ministry); the periods and populations differ.
- Disputed Figures differ: the Article 90 Commission gave 115 unhealthy-for-sensitive-groups days in Tehran for 1401; the Tehran judiciary gave 170 polluted days.
- Unclear Unclear: the Article 90 Commission's economic cost for Tehran (US$3.4 billion) is printed higher than its national figure (US$3.11 billion).
- Not disclosed Insufficient: the Health Ministry's national report for 1403 is available through press coverage; the text of the 1403 national report is not published online.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the calculation method behind the cost of closure days; Pirhadi's basis for 100 billion toman a day was not described.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the names and sentences of the five managers convicted under the Clean Air Law.
Did the harm stop?
PM2.5 exceeded the WHO 24-hour guideline on 350 days in Tehran and 362 in Ahvaz in the Iranian year 1403 according to the Health Ministry; the sources record no end to the exceedances.
Who paid?
The Health Ministry's economic loss from pollution deaths in 1403 was about US$17.2 billion; implementation funding in the budget from March 2023 was cut from US$8 million to US$4 million; five former managers were reported convicted, with sentences undisclosed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Tehran shrouded in thick smog as Iran burns dirty fuel amid energy crisisAl Jazeera · 2025-11-24
- Report of the Article 90 Commission on air pollution (in Persian)Mizan (Judiciary news agency) · 2023-06-27
- Iran environmental standards, pollution, smogRFE/RL · 2023-05-01
- How much does each day of Tehran's closure cost? (in Persian)Eghtesad Online · 2024-01-26
- Alghasi-Mehr: 5 managers convicted for dereliction under the Clean Air Law (in Persian)Mehr News Agency · 2025-01-12
- Five managers convicted for dereliction of duty (in Persian)Tabnak · 2023-12-03
Standard-setters and registries
- Clean Air Law, text approved 25 Tir 1396 (in Persian)Ekhtebar · n.d.
Connected cases
- Mazut burning in Iranian power plants, 2020–2025 Iran · 2020–2026
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Environmental regulator; low-sulfur mazut programme
- Judiciary of Iran (Government) — here: Tehran Province Judiciary announced convictions of five managers; there: Tehran Province Judiciary announced convictions; case against Esmail Kahrom
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Presidency; decisions on mazut use
- South Pars and Assaluyeh: sulphur dioxide emissions and the pollution levy Iran · 2005–2026
- Ministry of Health (Iran) (Government) — here: Published the 1403 deaths and economic-loss estimates; there: Directed to monitor about 6,000 exposed people a year
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Regulator; filed court cases and costed damages
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Cabinet approved the improvement document and the 2020 decision
- Hamoun wetlands, Helmand water and the EU/UNDP restoration project Iran · 1973–2025
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: National executing agency of the project
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Party to the 1973 Helmand treaty
- Hoor al-Azim wetland, oil-field development and dikes in Khuzestan Iran · 2007–2026
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Environment regulator; officials' 2021 accounts
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Government of Iran
- Iran's Groundwater Restoration and Balancing Plan: unlicensed wells, sealing, meters and budgets Iran · 2005–2026
- Majlis Research Center (Iran) (Public authority) — here: August 2023 review of the law's implementation; there: Parliamentary research body; stated plan needs and allocations
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Government; plan and budget bills
- Lake Urmia decline and the Urmia Lake Restoration Program Iran · 1995–2026
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Secretary of the ULRP; reports lake levels and progress
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Funded the programme
- Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation conservationists: arrests, a death in custody and prison sentences, 2018–2024 Iran · 2018–2024
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Its head reported the government committee's finding
- Judiciary of Iran (Government) — here: Tehran Province Judiciary announced convictions of five managers; there: Spokesman confirmed verdicts and the changed charge
- Asiatic cheetah conservation project in Iran: 25 years of funding and a count of 26 animals Iran · 2000–2026
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Executing agency; funded the project alone from December 2017
- Crude-oil pipeline spills into Khuzestan rivers: Karkheh 2009 and Marun 2025 Iran · 2009–2025
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Regulator; decided not to fine in 2009; demanded repairs in 2025
- Desalination plants hit in the 2026 war: Qeshm Island and Bahrain Iran · 2026
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Foreign minister's statement on Qeshm
- Electricity and diesel for groundwater pumping in Iran: subsidies and payments Iran · 2014–2024
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Sets energy prices; Majlis ordered the Central Bank funding
- Gotvand dam on the Karun: a reservoir on a salt formation Iran · 1996–2021
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Said the environmental impact study was never submitted
- Hyrcanian forests logging moratorium: announced budgets, partial allocation and the 2025 Elit fire Iran · 2015–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Enacted the ban and set the budgets
- Iran hunting permits for wild sheep and wild goat: Department of Environment prices for foreign hunters, 2018–2025 Iran · 2013–2025
- Department of Environment (Iran) (Public authority) — here: Responsible for 60 provisions of the law; there: Issues the hunting quotas and permits
- Iran–Iraq war (1980–88): environmental damage recorded by the UN expert team in 1991 and Iran's damage estimate Iran · 1980–1991
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Source of the damage figures; later reparations demands
- Iran's 2026 war-damage estimate of about USD 270bn and its calls for compensation and environmental accountability Iran · 2026
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Source of the damage estimate and the compensation demands
- Land subsidence on the Tehran plain and across Iran Iran · 1968–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Government; ministries and the Cartographic Center report subsidence data
- Landmines and explosive remnants of the Iran–Iraq war in Iran's western provinces Iran · 1980–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Runs the state demining programme
- Persian Gulf and Oman Sea desalinated water transfer to Kerman, Yazd and Isfahan Iran · 2016–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Ordered the lines into operation; ministers made statements
- Plans to move Iran's capital to the Makran coast, 2024–2025 Iran · 2024–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Proposed the relocation; president, vice president, spokeswoman and foreign minister made statements
- Rafsanjan pistachio plain: aquifer decline, subsidence and export revenue Iran · 1960–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Government; ministries cited on pistachio exports and water markets
- Strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, 2025 and 2026: IAEA statements on contamination and the Bushehr reactor Iran · 2025–2026
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Foreign minister's statements on Bushehr
- Strikes on Iranian oil and gas facilities, June 2025 and March 2026, and damage at Qatar's Ras Laffan Iran · 2025–2026
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Owner of the struck facilities; source of the state-media accounts
- Strikes on Tehran fuel depots, March 2026: smoke, black rain and Iran's "ecocide" claim Iran · 2025–2026
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Characterised the attack as ecocide; wrote to the UN
- UN Compensation Commission "F4" environmental claims by Iran for the 1990–91 Gulf War Iran · 1990–2013
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Claimant
- Zagros oak forests: the UNDP/GEF Central Zagros project, its evaluation and the fires of 2024–2026 Iran · 2005–2026
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Allocated 13,193,669 to the project
- Zayandeh Rud and the Gavkhouni wetland: water transfers and farmers' protests in Isfahan Iran · 1953–2025
- Government of Iran (Government) — here: Budget allocations for the law; there: Promised farmers' aid and compensation