Iran Regime Was Warned About Flooding Back in October; Did Nothing

By Staff Writer

A director of Dasht-e Azadegan’s Cooperative for Agriculture and Natural Resources – a state organisation responsible for agricultural land management – has said that the Iranian authorities have shown nothing but incompetence and laxity during the floods.

Hossein Marmazi said that, as a result of this mismanagement, tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land was destroyed in Khouzistan Province and evacuated people had nowhere to go.

He explained that for seven months experts from his cooperative had warned the authorities about severe floods in early spring.

He said: “We insisted that the marshes and moats must be dredged and that in the event of a flood, towns, and villages will be swallowed up under water. Nobody listened to us.”

Protests

Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Iranian Resistance said: “Two weeks have passed since the floods began and the situation in Iran remains highly critical. The mullahs’ regime’s inaction in the face of the extent of this national disaster has not failed to anger the population.”

In the aftermath of the initial floods, residents began expressing their anger against the Regime for failing to protect people or distribute aid. That caused authorities to send in the suppressive forces.

In Lorestan province, authorities sent 1,000 riot police officers to the devastated city of Pol-e Dokhtar on Wednesday and Thursday, with the deputy chief of the provincial police admitting that they were prioritising “security” of the Regime over the safety of the people.

General Ayub Soleimani said: “We have brought in several brigades from neighbouring provinces as reinforcements and have set up mobile patrols and checkpoints throughout the city to maintain security.”

One Pol-e Dokhtar resident explained: “They have no role in the emergency relief that the city had requested, they are only there to repress any possible protest movement.”

People power

In the wake of Regime inaction, the people of Iran have pulled together, using fishing boats to rescue neighbours, pooling sandbags to create flood barriers, and calling out Regime officials for their lack of support.

Rajavi called on Iranian people to help each other and form popular councils to deal with the flood, something that has terrified the Regime and made them nervous about being removed from power. She said that the resources of the army and the government must be made available to the population.

She also called on the international community to pressure the regime into accepting foreign aid.

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