Official: Turkey, Iraq should compensate Iran for dust storms

Azerbaijan, Baku, Jun.20/ Trend F.Milad/ The Turkish and Iraqi governments should compensate Iran for dust storms, Vahid Kazemzadeh, the secretary of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said. An international convention should be developed in order to fine countries, such as Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria, which are the sources of dust storms, the ISNA News Agency quoted Kazemzadeh as saying. The U.S. administration should be held accountable for waging wars in Iraq, which has led to the destruction of lands and expansion of deserts, he stressed. The director of the Environmental Protection Organization has said that Iran will take all the measures necessary to pursue the issue of dust storms originating from Iraq through legal channels. Mohammad Javad Mohammadizadeh also criticized the Iraqi government for failing to fulfill its commitments in regard to the issue of dust storms. In addition, he said that Iran has held talks with the executive secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and asked him to increase international pressure on Iraq to compel the country to perform its duties. In 2009, Iran and Iraq signed an agreement according to which Iraq should have poured oil derivative mulch on deserts, but Iraq did not fulfill its commitment. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az