About 10,000 people were killed last year by illnesses related to air pollution in Iran's smog-choked capital, the Etemad-e Melli newspaper on Tuesday quoted the deputy mayor as saying. Tehran's worsening air pollution has become one of the most hotly debated topics in the city. The sky is frequently obscured by a haze created by traffic, aged vehicles and factories in the southern part of the city of 12 million. "Living in Tehran is like committing mass suicide. The number of deaths is expected to increase this year," the daily quoted deputy mayor Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh as saying.