Iran’s diesel contains sulfur levels up to 15,000 parts per million (PPM), far above the global standard of 10 PPM, a senior industry representative said, warning that poor-quality fuel is contributing to severe air pollution in major cities.
Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for the Union of Petroleum Products Exporters, told Didban Iran on Sunday that even Afghanistan does not permit diesel above 2,000 PPM. He said Iran must invest in desulfurization technology to meet international standards.
“Our diesel has about 10,000 to 15,000 PPM of sulfur, while the global standard is 10,” he said.
Hosseini said Iran has the technical ability to produce Euro-4 and Euro-5 standard gasoline, but high domestic consumption leaves the oil ministry little choice but to distribute lower-octane fuel.
High-quality gasoline produced at some refineries is mixed with lower-quality batches before reaching the distribution network, he added.
He said pollution is also driven by aging vehicles and heavy diesel use in urban areas.
Nearly half of Iran’s 20 million registered cars are classified as old or high-emitting, while about four million motorcycles operate in Tehran alone.
Hosseini said Iran consumes roughly 120 million liters of gasoline per day and that scrapping older vehicles could significantly reduce both fuel use and emissions.
He added that sanctions have also limited investment in refinery upgrades, affecting the country’s ability to consistently produce cleaner fuel.
Iran International learned that actors Parsa Pirouzfar and Ali Shadman, and actresses Setareh Pesyani and Sahar Dowlatshahi were among more than 20 guests detained.
Shadman and Pesyani remain in custody, with cases opened in Tehran’s Ershad (morality) prosecutor’s office against Shadman and six others on charges including “violating public decency, promoting vice, drinking alcohol, and possession of alcoholic beverages,” according to people familiar with the matter.
Sources said Pirouzfar was taken to hospital after the raid.
Several detainees were released later on undertakings or bail, while separate files were opened for other guests, many from the theater community.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran police or the judiciary on the reported detentions.
Alcohol is banned in Iran and violations carry fines, lashings or prison, with stiffer penalties for production and distribution. The prohibition dates to 1979, but homemade brewing and smuggling have created a steady underground supply. Rights groups and health officials report periodic mass poisonings from counterfeit liquor.
Despite the ban, discreet drinking has edged into some public venues. Iranian and state‐affiliated outlets have acknowledged “secret menus” at a handful of restaurants and cafés, where beer or spirits are served under code names or in disguised containers.
Prosecutors and police regularly announce raids and closures for serving alcohol, mixed-gender dancing or hijab violations, part of wider morality crackdowns.
Authorities have stepped up enforcement over the past two years, sealing cafés in Tehran and other cities and publicizing arrests.
Officials say tougher action is needed to deter bootlegging and to uphold Islamic codes. Critics counter that decades of prohibition have pushed consumption into riskier, unregulated channels.
“The continued drying and the cut in permanent flows have brought land subsidence and the death of Gavkhouni to a point of no return and even put drinking water on the threshold of threat,” said Dariush Golalizadeh, the provincial environment department chief.
“The Zayandeh-Roud played a key role in recharging aquifers and preventing subsidence. With multi-year drought and sharply reduced inflows, alongside heavier pumping from wells and wastewater use, subsidence has intensified alarmingly.”
Golalizadeh said the internationally listed Gavkhouni wetland downstream of Isfahan is turning into a dust hotspot. “When the wetland falls apart, it means there are serious problems in water and land management above it.”
He linked the ecological stress to livelihoods, saying orchards, urban green spaces and farmers have been hit across the basin. Authorities are now working on support programs for Isfahan’s eastern districts to soften the blow to agriculture, he said.
The official urged emergency measures to keep minimum flows to the river and wetland.
“At present, because of the sharp drop in river yield, drinking water is under threat,” he said. “We are looking to other sources, but rising temperatures and drought have cut inflows to a minimum.”
The online newspaper Seday-e Iran (Voice of Iran) dedicated its Thursday issue to Niloufar Ghalehvand, a young coach killed along with her parents in an Israeli strike.
However, the newspaper used a real photograph showing her wearing a cap rather than a headscarf, falling short of the mandatory veiling rules promoted by the Islamic Republic.
The choice triggered angry reactions from several conservative activists and ultra-loyalist groups.
Among the critics was Mehri Talebi Darestani, a prominent hardline commentator, who questioned whether the outlet was justified in “ignoring divine boundaries (hijab) and promoting wrongdoing for the sake of a lofty divine goal (maximum outreach)”.
In a lengthy post, she argued that no individual or institution “has ironclad immunity,” quoting past remarks by Khamenei that everyone must remain accountable under the law — comments she framed as a rebuke to those shielding the Khamenei-linked publication from criticism.
The pro-establishment group “Banouye Tamaddon-Saz” (Civilization-Building Woman) also joined the backlash, echoing objections to showcasing an unveiled image of a female “martyr,” a term used by the state for those killed in the conflict.
The controversy drew further attention after Fars News, an outlet affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard entered the debate.
Defending Khamenei’s office, Fars published an AI-generated veiled photo of Ghalehvand to show that producing such images “is not difficult,” adding that the newspaper had deliberately used the real photograph “based on the core media principle of truthful storytelling.”
Fars argued that authentic representation carries several messages: that Israel “targets Iranians, regardless of appearance, clothing, taste, or lifestyle”; that victims of the war come from “all social and ideological backgrounds” and should not be reshaped to fit a predetermined narrative; and that showing reality “deepens the human dimension of their suffering” and elevates the story from a partisan frame to a national one.
The dispute reflects a broader struggle inside Iran’s conservative camp over the mandatory hijab, which is widely flouted by the public these days, at a time the Islamic Republic or at least the relatively moderate government of Masoud Pezeshkian seeks to project unity after the brief but intense conflict with Israel.
"Some of Khamenei’s supporters believe that once the 'hijab frontline' is captured by the public, the rest will fall as well. So they insist that this frontline must be retaken," says London-based journalist Mohammad Rahbar.
"For that reason, they are now seeking to enforce the hijab law even without the morality police — by making conditions so strict and penalties so severe that they can somehow re-impose the old mandatory-hijab order. But it is highly unlikely they have the power to reverse what has taken root in society."
