Strait of Hormuz oil spills, power outages and black rain: Iran’s escalating war damage

The US-Israel-Iran war has led to black rain and oil spills in the Strait of Hormuz - is the country facing an environmental crisis because of Donald Trump?

In this weekend bonus edition of Iran: The Latest, Roland Oliphant speaks with Kaveh Madani, the award-winning director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health and also an exiled Iranian politician. They examine the live impact on the ground of the conflict, from power outages to water shortages. 

Plus, Tehran was on the brink of being evacuated due to a major drought last year, so what happened? Kaveh explains how Iran narrowly escaped a major catastrophe and the wild war-related conspiracy theories going around to explain it. 

Highlights

• Iran faces Strait of Hormuz oil spills, power outages and black rain
• The escalating war damage to the Iranian environment

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Kaveh Madani, director of the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health @KavehMadani

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJnf_DDTfIVAif-vifC6F2aoPB8GIw6dk

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Listen to the previous interview with Kaveh Madani: ‘Worse than war with Israel’: Why Iran’s regime is on edge

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11/10/worse-than-war-with-israel-why-irans-regime-is-on-edge/

Winner Best News and Analysis Podcast - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Nominated Podcast of the Year - Society of Editors News Podcasts Awards 2026

Nominated Best News, Politics and Current Affairs - British Podcast Awards 2026

The Telegraph, Winner Podcast Publisher of the Year 2026 - Publisher Podcast Awards 2026

Producer: Max Bower

Video Producer: Peter Shevlin

Researcher and Social Producer: Anna Hindmarsh

Studio Operator: Andy Watson and Chris January

Executive Producer: Venetia Rainey 

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