Environmental Protection Top Priority: Iran’s President


Environmental Protection Top Priority: Iran’s President

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to dealing with the environmental challenges as a high priority, saying protection of the environment interrelates with the cultural issues.

Speaking in a cultural ceremony on Saturday held in Tehran to mark the upcoming World Environment Day (June 5th), President Rouhani underlined that his administration regards the environmental protection as a highly important matter affecting the people’s health and everyday life.

The president referred to “pollution and destruction” as two major threats endangering the environment.

“(Conservation) of the environment is top on the list of all priorities,” said Rouhani, adding that cultural initiatives are needed to deal with the environmental problems.

“Everybody should learn how to live healthily and (preserve) a healthy environment,” he noted.

In relevant comments back in March, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei called for all-out endeavors to safeguard the environment in Iran, and urged a halt to the environmental damage caused by the new constructions.

The Leader had also cautioned against the damaging impacts of dust particles and sand haze that enter the country, and urged the whole administrative bodies to join hands and work together to coordinate policy on tackling that problem.

Iranian residents in the western and southwestern provinces, bordering Iraq, are facing a growing trend in the influx of fine particles, which are generated by drought-hit marshlands in neighboring countries.

The disruptive dust storms have pushed pollution in those border areas to alarming levels, and have also raised health concerns.

The particles, carried by winds, can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing serious diseases such as lung cancer, asthma and heart problems.

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