Iran has called on European nations to lift sanctions so it can export air conditioning and cooling equipment to help save lives during the unprecedented heatwave sweeping across Europe. The Iranian Embassy in Turkiye made the appeal in a post on X on July 3, 2026, stating that the tragic loss of innocent lives linked to the lack of adequate cooling systems could be mitigated if sanctions were removed.
Iran's offer to export cooling equipment
The embassy's post read: "Given the unprecedented heatwave across Europe and the tragic loss of innocent lives reportedly linked to the lack of adequate cooling systems, we have a friendly suggestion: For the sake of protecting your own people, lift the sanctions on Iran. We are ready to export a wide range of air conditioners and cooling equipment to Europe."
The post added that despite years of sanctions, Iran has developed and manufactured its own air conditioners using indigenous technology. "We have the expertise, the production capacity, and we're ready to help--if Europe is ready to help itself," the embassy stated.
Europe's record-breaking heatwave
Temperatures across Europe have hit new highs, with hotter early-summer heatwaves triggering illness, deaths, and infrastructure collapse. On Sunday, temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) across Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland, causing transport systems to crumble. In France, days averaging 29.8 degrees Celsius (85.6 degrees Fahrenheit) -- spiking to 44 degrees Celsius (111.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in one town -- gave way to storms, leaving an estimated 1,000 excess deaths behind.
Scientific attribution and historical context
A study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), quoted by Al Jazeera, found that intense heat on this level is now tens to hundreds of times more likely than it was in 2003, and was unheard of 50 years ago. According to WWA, heatwaves were generally about 3.5 degrees Celsius cooler in June 1976, and 2 degrees Celsius cooler even in 2003.
The immediate trigger behind these extreme temperatures is a stalled high-pressure system, or a "heat dome," which traps heat in one concentrated area for days or weeks.
