Long-term plans needed to deal with dust storm: Iranian councilor

TEHRAN, May 26 (MNA) – A Tehran city councilor said the problem of dust storm can only be resolved through long-term plans and diplomatic efforts. “Symbolic moves cannot resolve the problem of dust storm and its solution is (dependent on) long-term plans and cooperation with international forums,” Ma’soumeh Ebtekar, the chairwoman of the environment committee of the Tehran City Council told the Mehr News Agency in an interview published on Saturday. Dust storms which once in a while cover large parts of Iran mainly originate from Iraq and parts of Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Ebtekar, an environmental expert, said if this problem is not resolved it will leave “heavy economic and health costs” on the Iranian society.