As US sanctions complicate aiding the flood-hit areas in Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei calls for more steps by the officials

Tabnak – As the recent unprecedented flood in most of the Iranian territories has led to a humanitarian catastrophe, the Iranian supreme leader urges all the officials to take the necessary steps for overcoming the crisis. Meanwhile, it’s reported that the US sanctions have complicated the process of aiding the flood-hit people.

On Tuesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei had a special meeting with senior administrative and military officials to examine the measures and relief operations carried out for the flood-stricken provinces.

“Paying services to the people, collaboration and harmony among different sectors, and enthusiasm to offer relief and the spirit of mobilization among people were really significant in the recent flood that has stricken some provinces,” the Leader said in the meeting.

Ayatollah Khamenei also urged the officials to take the necessary actions, stressing, “All necessary decisions and measures should be taken and followed up strictly until the problems and pains of the flood-stricken people are all removed.”

Ayatollah Khamenei further emphasized that damages could have been prevented, noting, “The damage should have been predicted in advance, and preemptive measure should have been taken.”

Stressing that the psychological aftermaths of such disasters can last long and any plans should take that into account, the Leader said, “Apart from the damages, the issue of the psychological damages due to disasters like flood are long term and profound. Hence, plans should be made with an outlook on the future so that the damages of such disasters can be minimized.”

“Dredging rivers and dams, clearing up river banks, watershed management, and protecting meadows and forests are essential matters and lessons must be learnt from this catastrophe so that in the future, different aspects are taken into account and plans are devising comprehensively for various projects including the construction of dams, roads, railways, and urban development,” Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.

Meanwhile, the Iranian administration says the United States has frozen the accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent Society as part of its cruel sanctions against the Iranian people, thus preventing other countries from sending humanitarian aid to people in Iran’s flood-stricken areas.

“Given that the accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent have been blocked [due to US sanctions], no foreign citizen or Iranian national living abroad is able to send any relief aid to flood-hit people,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi told IRNA on Tuesday.

This measure exposes the American officials’ hostile approach towards the Iranian nation and counters all their “ridiculous” claims that the sanctions do not target the people of Iran, Qassemi said.

In the same vein, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif revealed his US counterpart’s false claim that Washington would be providing relief aid for Iran.

In a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday, Zarif used the term ‘fake news’ –frequently used by US President Donald Trump- to lambast the US secretary of state who has voiced Washington’s readiness to help Iran’s Red Crescent through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“FAKE NEWS: SecPompeo claim that US ‘ready to assist ifrc, which would direct money through Iranian Red Crescent for relief’,” Zarif wrote.

“REAL NEWS: As ICRC President noted, Iranian Red Crescent can't receive any funds due to illegal US sanctions. US should own up to its ECONOMIC TERRORISM,” Zarif underscored.