"Night Turned into Day." Iranians Tell of Strikes on Oil Depots

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One resident reported that what was happening looked "as if night had turned into day."

According to local news agencies, citing a source in Iran's Oil Ministry, fuel depots were affected in Tehran and Karaj, west of the capital.

Video footage shows a street burning in Tehran near one of the depots, with a man off-screen saying that shops and residential buildings are on fire.

"In Karaj, it was calm during the day, but now the madness has started again — they blew up everything," one local resident told the BBC.

"First, a red light appeared, illuminating everything around, then an explosive wave hit the door," recalls another man from Karaj, aged around 30.

"Then the sky lit up again, and a huge red cloud appeared. We didn't understand what was happening," he said, adding that he went up to the roof and saw the local oil depot engulfed in flames.

The BBC does not reveal the identities of the Iranians it speaks with, for their safety.

Iranian authorities stated that they are monitoring air quality in the capital and urged residents to stay home.

Esmail Baghai, a representative of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the airstrikes lead to "emissions of hazardous materials and toxic substances into the air," which "endanger human lives on a massive scale."

A resident of Tehran said the city is enveloped in smoke:

"There's a smell of burning. I can't see the sun. There's terrible smoke. It hasn't cleared yet, I'm very tired."

Another man from Karaj reported that the strike on the depot caused a "huge explosion, the fire lasted several hours."

US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which began with the assassination of the country's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are now in their second week. In response, Iran is striking US allies and their facilities in the region.

According to Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN, at least 1,332 Iranian civilians have been killed and thousands injured as a result of US and Israeli strikes.

However, some Iranians told the BBC that they still support these strikes.

"We, the people, have hidden in our homes and eagerly await the government's destruction to once again take to the streets, as it was before," said a Tehrani man, aged around 20.

According to him, state television warns that anyone who speaks or acts in support of the US, Israel, or Reza Pahlavi — the exiled son of Iran's last shah — "will be killed."

Another Tehran resident said the war is horrifying but added that it is a price worth paying to remove the current regime.

"Perhaps it's hard for people who aren't here to understand, but ordinary people truly have no other choice. Otherwise, believe me, we wouldn't want to pay such a huge price for war. Iranians are not warmongering people or fools; they have simply suffered so much that they've reached their limit, and all they want is a normal life," she says.

However, another woman from Tehran fears what might await the country if the war ends and the current regime remains in power.

"Even if the war ends and we survive... I'm sure the price will be very high, and for a long time, everything will be worse than before. Especially if they remain in power," she said. "I can't even say who will take power."

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