Azerbaijan, Baku, Jun.11/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the issue of dust storms in the western provinces of the country will soon be resolved, IRIB reported.
He made the remarks during the inauguration of an air pollution research and control centre in south-western Khuzestan province.
Iran and Iraq have taken notable measures so far to curb dust storms he said, adding that special systems which help curb them will be gradually installed in some southern provinces of the country.
Khuzestan, Hamedan, and Kermanshah provinces have been affected by dust storms, IRIB quoted the Khuzestan department of environment director Lahijanzadeh as saying.
The source of the dust storms is Iraq, Lahijanzadeh said, adding that the situation will continue till tomorrow.
In June last year, Vahid Kazemzadeh, the secretary of the Islamic Human Rights Commission said the Turkish and Iraqi governments should compensate Iran for dust storms.
An international convention should be developed in order to levy fines on 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 Organisation has said Iran will take all the necessary measures to pursue the issue of dust storms originating from Iraq through legal channels.
Mohammad Javad Mohammadizadeh also criticised the Iraqi government for failing to fulfil 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 fulfil its commitment.