Rouhani: Some Did Not Understand What Sanctions Are

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani stated on Sunday, June 7, that those who imposed sanctions on the Iranian nation committed a great injustice, but some did not understand what these sanctions were and likened them to a fever that can develop into a serious illness. He described sanctions as a 'disease' that starts with a small fever and added, 'Initially, this small fever was ignored, but when the patient fell to the ground and could no longer move, we sought treatment for the illness.' Rouhani emphasized that 'the oppressive sanctions must be lifted so that investment can come in and issues regarding the environment, employment, industry, and people's drinking water can be resolved, water resources can increase, and banks can be revitalized.' However, he also stated, 'This does not mean we should submit to coercion, but we must move forward. The slogans of others do not matter; we must consider national goals and solve problems.' The manner in which Western sanctions against Iran are lifted is one of the contentious issues in negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group. According to Abbas Araghchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, discussions on 'nuclear issues and sanctions' are ongoing in the sixth round of negotiations that began on Thursday, June 3, to draft the final agreement. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described Iran's nuclear case as 'more complicated' than the UN Security Council Resolution 598 negotiations that ended the Iran-Iraq war due to the sanctions resolutions. Zarif's comments come as former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had repeatedly dismissed UN Security Council resolutions against Iran as 'used tissues,' 'pieces of paper,' and 'legally worthless.' Additionally, Reuters reported last week that Western officials stated that the P5+1 countries have agreed on the method for reinstating UN sanctions against Iran in the event of a breach of the comprehensive nuclear agreement by Iran. According to Western officials, under this agreement, any potential violation of the final agreement's provisions by Iran will be pursued and evaluated by a dispute resolution group that likely includes members of the P5+1 and Iran. 'A lot of time is needed to compensate for past damages,' Rouhani said in another part of his speech, referring to the 11th government as 'the environmental government' and considering the preservation of water, soil, and air as important aspects of 'enjoining good and forbidding wrong.' He added, 'In fact, the place for forbidding wrong is the environment; someone who goes to relax by the river and leaves their trash and throws it into the water is doing something ugly.' He emphasized, 'Just as we repent for wrongful actions, we must also repent for the oppression against nature, which includes returning from the oppression of nature, repentance, righteous action, and compensation.' Rouhani pointed out the scrapping of 250,000 old vehicles, stating, 'Unfortunately, this issue was neglected in previous years.' He continued by saying that a lot of time is needed to compensate for past damages, adding, 'Can we abandon the Zayandeh Rud (river) and can we leave rivers, wetlands, lakes, and Hamouns to their fate?' In recent years, various environmental issues have arisen in Iran, such as the drying of Lake Urmia and some wetlands, dust problems, and severe air pollution. According to Masoumeh Ebtekar, head of Iran's Environmental Protection Organization, '88 percent' of Lake Urmia has dried up. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Organization announced in April that more than fifty percent of the country's wetlands and lakes have dried up or are at risk of destruction. In recent years, some provinces in Iran have faced dust problems, including Khuzestan province and its main cities like Ahvaz, which faced a severe dust crisis in January 2015, leading to the closure of schools and government centers and public protests in some of these cities. Additionally, Masoumeh Ebtekar criticized the drying of the Hoor al-Azim wetland for oil extraction during Ahmadinejad's presidency, considering this action one of the reasons for the dust storms in Khuzestan.