Warning of the Health Commission of the National Council of Resistance of Iran about the severe consequences of sand storms and particulates to public health and the spread of dangerous diseases
Reports from across the country suggest unprecedented spread of diseases due to particulate storms and too much dust concentration in the air in large parts of Iran that has threatened the health of millions of citizens. Acute respiratory infections and diseases, obstruction of the respiratory tract, middle ear infections, lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases, allergies and allergic reactions are among the complications of this dire situation. Infants, children, adolescents, the elderly, people with asthma, bronchitis, and heart disease, and pregnant women are doubly vulnerable to particulate storms and dust concentration that have taken the lives of many of our compatriots. Side effects of this situation such as accidents in the dust leave more victims from low income people in these areas.
The clerical regime officials try to ostentatiously blame this disaster on territorial conditions and neighbouring countries, and relate particulates and their consequences including their victims and diseases to outside factors. Even in many cases they called them Arabic particulates or Iraqi particulates. The reality is that the origin of the problem is nothing but religious fascism ruling Iran, which has no purpose except to maintain shameful domination and plundering the property of the Iranian people. The fact is that the regime is responsible for this situation and diseases and mortality due to that for three specific reasons:
First: Over the past 36 years, the mullahs have done nothing to prevent the spread of deserts and in line with de-desertification, while in a country like Iran, where there are many deserts inside and outside the country, preventing the spread of deserts and repelling them is an urgent task of national sovereignty.
Second: The clerical regime and its officials, by taking over forests and green areas and their destruction for building profitable institutions, as well as inappropriate building of dams aimed at filling the pockets of the mullahs, have served to spread the deserts. For instance in Khouseztan province, some of the oil industries’ projects caused drying of the Karoun river and some large lagoons and their transformation to deserts. This in turn has caused secondary consequences such as destruction of agriculture and pastures, livestock production, vegetation, and desertification.
Third: The clerical regime has failed to provide the minimum health facilities to counter the consequences of these storms and dust, and complications due to this situation rapidly turn to acute and serious diseases. This is part of the catastrophic medical situation in Iran under the rule of the mullahs for which is a separate study is needed.
In these circumstances the Health Minister of the clerical regime in a show measure went to Khouseztan provincial governor’s office and said: “All respiratory patients due the dust phenomenon in Khouzestan province can go to private, public, social services and oil company hospitals and will be treated for free.” This hypocrisy is while this phenomenon is neither limited to the past two weeks nor to the Khouzestan province.
This is a disaster that thanks to the mullahs, has spread to large parts of Iran. According to the deputy of the regime’s Environmental Protection Organization, “in 1383, only three provinces had been affected by the phenomenon of particulates while now 23 other provinces have been affected by this phenomenon.” The situation has become so critical that for the first time, the people of Khouzestan have faced this problem in the winter too. This condition has usually occurred in the spring and summer.
The murderous mullahs have spent the Iranian people’s vast resources and capitals on nuclear proliferation, spread of terrorism and fundamentalism in the region and in the world, or tunneled them in their bank accounts by astronomical plundering. As long as this regime is in power, neither the human rights is improved nor unemployment and inflation are reduced, nor the medical condition and environment are improved. The only solution is to overthrow the religious fascism and to establish democracy and popular sovereignty.
People of Ahwaz rallied several times last week to protest the clerical regime’s indifference to worsening air pollution in the city. In these rallies, including one in front of the governor’s office, despite the threats of the suppressive forces, people continued their protest in severe dust storm and chanted slogans against the Governor, Rouhani, Khamenei, and mockingly chanted: “We’d better die that Khamenei is our leader.” These days, the concentration of dust in Ahwaz is 70 times more than the permitted limit. Many other cities in Khouzestan province also were shut down due to the severity of air pollution and particulate storm. Meanwhile state news agencies reported a sharp increase of dust in Lorestan, Kermanshah, Ilam and Western Azerbaijan provinces.

Health Commission
National Council of Resistance of Iran
February 14, 2015