Landfill Fire Sends Thick Smoke Over Western Tehran

A fire at a waste-storage site in Tehran’s western Chitgar district sent thick black smoke across the capital and neighbouring Alborz Province on Thursday, 17 July, according to Iran’s state-run Mehr news agency and footage circulated on social media. Videos showed plumes rising near Chitgar Lake and the Kouhak area from the early morning. The smoke was visible from multiple districts, prompting speculation about an explosion or renewed military activity; the neighbourhood was shelled during last month’s 12-day conflict with Israel. Mehr attributed the incident to a landfill blaze but released no details on the scale of the fire, possible injuries or the response by emergency services. Municipal authorities had not issued an official statement by mid-afternoon.