Iran’s Judiciary Targets Ex-Oil Minister Zanganeh Over Pollution

(Bloomberg) -- Iran’s judiciary said it’s pursuing a legal case against the country’s previous oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, over damage caused to the environment by gas flaring, or burning off the fuel pumped out with crude.

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Zanganeh is accused of breaching his duties while oil minister and causing pollution and “damage to government property” by not properly collecting flared gas from various fields, Massoud Setayeshi, Iran’s judiciary spokesman, told reporters on Wednesday, according to the state-run Mizan Online.

A reformist technocrat, Zanganeh was often targeted by hardline lawmakers while in office under moderate former President Hassan Rouhani between 2013 and 2021.

A veteran OPEC diplomat, he oversaw a brief period of increased foreign investment in Iran’s aging energy sector and stronger oil production and exports. The efforts suffered a setback as the 2015 nuclear accord unraveled when the US abandoned it three years later.

Setayeshi said a report on the allegations was “in the investigation phase” and is being processed by the Tehran prosecutor’s office. He didn’t give any more details.

Bloomberg couldn’t reach Zanganeh for comment via messages sent to current and former oil ministry officials.

According to the World Bank, Iran has been one of the world’s top gas flarers for the past decade. Iranian officials say sanctions prevent them from modernizing the sector and using cleaner technologies.

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