Deadly Disease in Poultry Farms of Qazvin Province

The February 22nd rally has dominated the front pages of most newspapers on Thursday. Kayhan newspaper headlines: "The nation trampled on America's wishes," while Javan newspaper described the event as a "counter-strike by the nation." However, Shahrvand newspaper quoted Hassan Rouhani's remarks at the event, stating: "Only the Zionists oppose negotiations." Etemad described this rally as the "nuclear support of the nation" and quoted Rouhani saying: "We have defended Iran's independence in negotiations." Shargh noted some of the slogans opposing nuclear negotiations during the February 22nd rally, reporting that Rouhani likened diplomacy and nuclear negotiations to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war, stating: "There is no betrayal worse than betrayal from behind the lines." Shahrvand reported on the "continuation of dust storms and air pollution in various cities of Khuzestan," mentioning that Rouhani issued orders to address the people's problems in these cities and sent the Minister of Health as a special representative to Ahvaz, despite claims that the air in this city would improve from Wednesday afternoon, but severe dust storms once again engulfed Khuzestan. Etemad reported on the President's message to citizens in areas affected by the dust crisis, stating: "Despite Rouhani's message of sympathy on social media, people in Ahvaz gathered in front of the governor's office on Tuesday to protest the city's air quality and demanded that provincial and national officials address the crisis in this province as soon as possible." Arman reported the outbreak of a "deadly disease" in poultry farms in Qazvin province, which has so far led to the death of 200,000 birds. Rouhani's reaction to opposition to negotiations on February 22nd was: "There is no betrayal worse than betrayal from behind the lines." Shargh published a report on the February 22nd rally, stating that this year's event "was more than anything colored and flavored by nuclear issues, from the slogans and placards held by the people to Rouhani's speech and the faces of military and state officials." The newspaper referred to some of the "slogans opposing nuclear negotiations" and "some placards" with similar content, stating: "Accordingly, Rouhani in his speech at Azadi Square compared diplomacy and nuclear negotiations to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war and said: 'There is no betrayal worse than betrayal from behind the lines.'" Shargh reported that during the February 22nd rally, flyers with slogans such as "begging in foreign policy," "Do you know what happened to the Geneva agreement?!" and "laziness in domestic economy" were widely distributed by a student organization at Sharif University against the Foreign Ministry and the nuclear negotiation team. Additionally, the Tehran Municipality's Basij organization distributed yellow placards with various slogans such as "disgraceful agreements are our humiliation," "we stand until the end," "no sanctions, no humiliation, negotiations with dignity," and "political agreement; an American trick" among the rally participants. According to this newspaper, "other directed placards distributed among the people included a poster of the meeting between Aref and the Vice President of the German Parliament, and among the slogans of the February 22nd rally in Tehran were 'a good agreement cancels all sanctions simultaneously,' 'not agreeing is better than a bad agreement,' 'a wolf is a wolf, it only intends to tear apart,' and 'no sanctions, no humiliation, negotiations with dignity.'" The report from Shargh also mentioned: "A small group that seemed to have planned their presence at the Gharib intersection during the arrival of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani among the rally participants shouted diversionary slogans, which led to an immediate reaction from the attendees, forcing them to leave the area, and the rally participants surrounded Ayatollah Hashemi with chants of 'February 22nd is a day of national pride, unity is a constant principle' and 'death to hypocrites.' The head of the Expediency Council continued his path without paying attention to these individuals' slogans." The newspaper noted that "a group attempted to continue their diversionary slogans during the President's speech at Azadi Square, but they were silenced and forced to leave the podium area by the attendees." The newspaper also referred to chants against Ali Motahari, stating: "When Ali Motahari entered the crowd, some shouted, 'the leaders of the sedition must be tried,' and also 'one of the members of the deviationist current, who has a history of detention, loudly supported those shouting against the government and nuclear diplomacy during the February 22nd rally.' This cultural official of the tenth government called for chanting against the government from a small group when the President attended the February 22nd rally. The continuation of the dust crisis; government promises, public gatherings. Shahrvand reported on the "continuation of dust storms and air pollution in various cities of Khuzestan," stating that Rouhani "issued orders to address the people's problems in these cities and sent the Minister of Health as a special representative to Ahvaz, despite claims that the air in this city would improve from Wednesday afternoon, but severe dust storms once again engulfed Khuzestan." According to this newspaper, "the dust and polluted air have attacked Ahvaz and western cities of the country so much that social networks, media, and anywhere that can make the voices of Ahvaz and the cities exposed to dust heard have reported on the ill condition of the people in the west and southwest of the country." Shahrvand mentioned the visit of Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, the Minister of Health, to Khuzestan, stating that the Minister of Health, as the President's special representative, traveled to Ahvaz and in an emergency meeting to address the air crisis in Khuzestan, chaired by Eshaq Jahangiri, pointed out the readiness of hospitals and pre-hospital emergency services in Khuzestan, announcing his trip to this province to address treatment conditions and assess the necessary medical equipment and declared that the ministry would use all its resources to resolve this issue and address any shortages as soon as possible. The newspaper reported that currently all medical centers in Khuzestan province are on full alert to provide services to patients, and according to the Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences, all individuals who have sought treatment, including those with heart and respiratory conditions, have been treated at medical centers. Shahrvand also quoted the Minister of Health as saying: "All respiratory patients caused by the dust phenomenon in Khuzestan who visit public, private, social security, and oil company hospitals within two weeks after this phenomenon will be treated free of charge." Etemad reported on its front page that Hassan Rouhani "expressed sympathy with the people of Khuzestan on his Instagram page," writing: "I am with you, brave southern people, warm-hearted Khuzestan residents, valiant border guards; once again, your breaths are numbered due to the ominous guest of dust." This newspaper reported that Rouhani also announced the formation of a "task force to address air pollution," stating: "The task force for pollution reduction in the government, chaired by the head of the Environmental Protection Organization and involving several ministers, is continuously monitoring the reduction of air pollution and providing reports on actions in this regard. I have asked the governor of Khuzestan to ensure the participation of all agencies and experts with the government task force and to provide practical proposals. I have also asked the Minister of Health to pay special attention to the affected patients. The Planning and Budget Organization has also been tasked with allocating special funds." Etemad wrote: "Despite Rouhani's message of sympathy on social media, people in Ahvaz gathered in front of the governor's office on Tuesday to protest the city's air quality and demanded that provincial and national officials address the crisis in this province as soon as possible." The black box of dust storms; reducing the dust crisis to an overnight phenomenon. Iran newspaper, in an editorial titled "The Black Box of Dust Storms," wrote: "Since Monday, when the pollution caused by dust storms made it hard for the people of seven western provinces to breathe and pollution levels in various cities were reported to be 35 to 66 times above the permissible limit, various statements have been made about the sources of pollution." Mahmoud Azizi, in the editorial of Iran newspaper, wrote: "It does not matter whether it is air pollution or dust storms; the goal is to weaken the rival, and if dust storms can help with this, so much the better; unfortunately, this is the mindset and behavioral pattern of some of the government's opponents who, in recent days, when millions of people in the western provinces, especially in the cities of Khuzestan, are facing numerous problems caused by dust and dust storms, are trying to make a hat for themselves out of this felt. By oversimplifying the current issue and crisis, they have reduced dust storms to an overnight phenomenon that could be solved with a few government orders from the top down, which has not happened." The government-aligned newspaper emphasized that "opponents seem not to know or do not want to know that dust storms have a ten-year history in Khuzestan province," stating: "Multiple internal and external factors contribute to its occurrence, which, aside from drought and external origins, should not overlook past mismanagement, including the drying of Hoor al-Azim during the previous government and neglecting the water rights of wetlands. Now, in this situation, knowing that solving this crisis with a multi-year origin overnight is not feasible, what does it mean to play with the feelings of the people in the region, distorting the reality of events for people who are currently dealing with this problem day and night?" Iran newspaper referred to various statements regarding the reasons for the dust storm crisis and wrote: "The head of the Environmental Protection Organization considers the sources of pollution to be primarily Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Drought and reduced average rainfall compared to previous years are also cited as other factors contributing to the existence of dust storms, and even 'Seyyed Shakerkhoda Mousavi,' the representative of Ahvaz in Parliament, declared the main reason for the entry of dust storms to be drought, and 'Nasser Soudani,' another representative from Ahvaz, also indicated areas of Saudi Arabia and regions of Iraq under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the halt of the mulching project in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and the drying of wetlands as the main sources of dust storms." This newspaper also noted that "environmental experts and officials have proposed and implemented many solutions so far. Using vegetation cover in fields, producing artificial rain, employing windbreaks, promoting agriculture in areas suitable for cultivation, mulching, using rocky cover in areas where vegetation cover is not possible, using sprays and chemical adhesives, and international cooperation with neighboring countries that facilitate the entry of dust into Iranian cities are among the solutions that have been proposed and some of which have been implemented." The issue of excessive dam construction by Iran, Iraq, and Syria and the drying of transboundary riverbeds is also mentioned as other factors contributing to the existence of dust storms. The editorial writer of Iran newspaper emphasized that "whether the external origin of dust storms is 30 percent or, as environmental officials say, 70 percent, in this emergency situation, one cannot hope for actions from the troubled and problematic neighbors across the border. Currently, all preventive measures and strategies must focus on actions within the country. Even external actions must be led by Iran, as the main victims of dust storms are Iranians." Iran newspaper stated: "What is now essential is firstly reaching a consensus among experts and officials and secondly, a unified approach among officials to solve this problem. The fact that a task force to combat and solve the dust storm issue has been formed in the government and is being led by the highest executive officials is an important opportunity for the current and future resolution of this ongoing issue." A deadly disease in poultry farms, rising prices in the market; poultry losses reached 200,000 birds. Arman reported on the outbreak of a "deadly disease" in poultry farms in Qazvin province, which has so far led to the death of 200,000 birds. The newspaper wrote: "Everything began last Saturday morning when poultry farmers in Qazvin province headed to their farms for another workday, unaware that their work that day would consist solely of burying dead birds; there was nothing else to do as an unknown disease had sent over 120,000 birds to their deaths, turning their workday into burying dead and sick birds." According to this newspaper, "although this incident received little media coverage, reports from various corners indicate that poultry losses are not limited to Qazvin province, and farmers in Hamadan and Alborz provinces have also witnessed the death of their birds." Arman also wrote: "Although the sensitivity surrounding this issue is being managed by responsible authorities, it has been heard that veterinary services in the provinces neighboring Qazvin have been put on alert and are urgently investigating the cause of the poultry deaths, as 'with 200,000 birds and chicks removed from the production cycle, we will witness a reduction in supply in the coming days and especially during the New Year.'" The newspaper reported that regarding the cause of the sudden deaths of the birds: "Although Qazvin officials deny infectious contamination, the exact cause of this incident is still unclear, and investigations are ongoing in this regard. A similar incident in neighboring provinces has also heightened sensitivity and complicated the matter," while Behman Naqibi, the director of veterinary services in Qazvin province, raised the possibility of suffocation.