A Rhetoric of Deflection

During the COP31 summit, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian positioned his administration as a champion of environmental stewardship, framing the protection of natural resources as a moral obligation to those yet unborn. He spoke fervently against the degradation of soil and water, demanding global accountability while painting his government as a pioneer in clean energy. However, this narrative conveniently ignores the systemic environmental destruction orchestrated by the regime within its own borders.

Through a critical discourse analysis, it becomes evident that Pezeshkian’s rhetoric is designed to shift the burden of blame. By casting foreign governments as the primary aggressors and the Islamic Republic as both a victim and a climate leader, the regime effectively shields its own institutions from necessary scrutiny. While the President invokes universal climate justice, his demands for compensation are narrowly targeted at Israel and the United States, allowing his own government to evade responsibility for its domestic policies.

The Disconnect Between Policy and Reality

Pezeshkian’s data selection further highlights this selective accountability. He cited 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions resulting from attacks on fuel infrastructure, yet failed to address Iran’s massive annual footprint of 1.12 billion tonnes of CO₂-equivalent in 2025—roughly 2.1% of global emissions. Furthermore, his claims regarding renewable energy expansion are starkly contradicted by the numbers: wind and solar accounted for less than 1% of the nation’s electricity supply in 2025, while fossil fuels dominated at 94%. This reliance on hydrocarbons has fueled a public health crisis, with fine-particle pollution contributing to approximately 59,000 premature deaths in the year ending March 2025.

Military Encroachment on Protected Lands

The regime’s environmental failures extend to its protected landscapes. While Pezeshkian decries attacks on ranger facilities, he remains silent on the encroachment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) into protected habitats. From the 2,711 hectares carved out of Bamou National Park for military and industrial use to the construction of roads and bases in the Shaho and Kosalan Protected Area, the IRGC has prioritized military expansion over ecological preservation.

“In 2010, we were dispatched to Lashgardar after receiving a report of gunfire. Rangers had witnessed a commander from the Imam Ali base shooting several wild sheep with a military weapon. An officer named Alizadeh had taken the carcasses into the base and refused to answer the rangers’ questions.” — Behzad Bahrami, former Department of Environment expert.

Water Mismanagement and State Contractors

The narrative of water scarcity is similarly distorted. Pezeshkian attributes water depletion to warfare, ignoring decades of domestic mismanagement and the influence of state-backed contractors. Organizations like the IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters have profited from massive dam and irrigation projects that have diverted river flows and decimated wetlands.

Dr. Shirin Goli, an environmental engineer, notes: “These megaprojects have generated lucrative contracts while diverting river flows, degrading wetlands and enabling water consumption beyond what Iran’s rivers and aquifers can sustain.” Ultimately, the regime’s environmental rhetoric serves as a smokescreen, obscuring the fact that its pursuit of military power and commercial dominance remains the greatest threat to Iran’s natural heritage.