Iran Focus
London, 26 Feb – In recent weeks in Iran there have been several storms that have caused avalanches, flash floods and dust storms causing havoc across the country.
Instead of using the huge amounts of cash that were freed up following the nuclear deal to help the affected areas, the regime is using it to buy missiles.
The storms occurred as the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) started a military exercise on 21st February. The missile launch during this exercise was the fifth such one that is a blatant breach of the United Nations resolution. The launches came just a day after the US revealed plans to implement further economic sanctions on the country.
At the Munich Security Conference, Sen. Lindsey Graham said: “I think it is now time for the Congress to take Iran on directly in terms of what they’ve done outside the nuclear program.”
Despite the large amount of funds Iran can now access, it is still carrying out illegal military activity and continues to ignore its own people. The fact that it has refused to help the areas that are in dire need of help after the storms shows where its priorities are.
In the south of the country, many people have been left without power and water and areas have been destroyed, including many houses – leaving around 10,000 homeless. Roads have been destroyed, sinkholes have appeared, and bridges have collapsed. People are exposed to contaminated water and the Bardsir dam has collapsed causing water to run downstream into villages.
Even though Iran has made tremendous amounts of money from oil in the past ten years, nothing has been invested in infrastructure. Why was civil defence such as flood advisories and patrol groups not able to help?
The Iranian people are not even allowed to know what is going on in its own country. The Iranian regime has employed its usual methods so that the people are not aware of what is going on – i.e. reducing internet speeds and censoring the news.
One year ago, a similar weather event left nearly 300 people dead and caused horrendous damage. From 1987 to 2001, around 1,120 people lost their life, 10,000 homes were wrecked, 10,000 miles of roads were damaged and 2,470 acres of agricultural land was devastated.
Why is the Iranian government not putting preventative plans in place? Why is it not making sure that the same damage does not occur in the future? How can it continue to spend billions of dollars abroad to fund terrorism and wars in other countries?
The large amounts of cash freed up by the nuclear deal are being spent on bombs, ammunitions and missiles. More money is being spent on a hugely expensive military drill.
Why it is just the small percentage of the Iranian population – the mullahs and their families – that are being made very rich by the Iran nuclear deal? Did President Obama intend for the Iranian people to continue to suffer in miserable conditions when he drew up the deal he was so proud of?
For average Iranians, what, again, was good about this much-touted Iran Deal?
