Pres. Rouhani: Gov't to continue handling Kermanshah quake victims' problems

Speaking in a session of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, Dr Rouhani referred to the earthquake in Kermanshah province and said: "Such an earthquake is dangerous in any country and it will bring many problems".

The president described the prevention and management of earthquake hazards as a public duty and said: "The houses that people made for themselves remained intact in Sarpol-e Zahab region and those that the government had built were destroyed, indicating corruption in this field, and it is clear that there was corruption in the construction".

Dr Rouhani stressed: "Incidents such as earthquake are a lesson for us all about how we can help each other and be together".

"In such circumstances, it is very important for us to show the morale of fraternity and brotherhood and love for the homeland and Islam more than ever before," said the president, thanking the Iranian people for their sympathy and spontaneous assistance to their fellow countrymen".

Stating that the government will handle the problems caused by the earthquake in Kermanshah and to eliminate people's pain with all its might, he said: "The government will decide on necessary measures in helping victims".

Referring to the need for some 30,000 urban and rural houses in the quake-stricken areas of Kermanshah for reconstruction, Dr Rouhani said: Everyone should help in this regard. But the main responsibility for temporary and permanent housing of the victims of the earthquake is the Housing Foundation".

President Rouhani also referred to the demands of the residents of the earthquake-stricken areas, and said: "Yesterday, people expressed their demands with patience, courtesy, and logic, and we have a duty to take responsibility for this".

In another part of his speech, he mentioned the critical conditions of the region and the need for vigilance in such a situation, and said: "Today, the conditions of the region have become more critical than ever, and we need to be vigilant dealing with it."

The president said that earlier, some in the region thought that with the presence of major powers, security will be established in the region, and therefore some were relying on Britain and the United States and foreign powers, saying: "Today everyone has fully observed that the presence of foreign powers has not had any benefits for the region".

Dr Rouhani said: "Foreign powers have used the region to market their weapons and play with oil prices, and pursued their malicious goals in these areas, and their presence has never been in favour of the people, and has had no result except for trouble".

"Whenever US officials came to the region, immediately afterwards, the fire of war and tension has flared up in a part of the region," he said, adding that with the intervention of foreign powers, great wars took place in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria and Yemen is in turmoil.

He continued: "Is there anyone who is thinking about Yemeni people and claiming to care about humanity? The defenceless people of Yemen have been struggling with problems of disease, poverty and constant bombing for years. Why, a country that is Muslim and considers itself a servant of the holy shrine, has put these innocent and Muslim people in Yemen under pressure and has not expressed regret and continue its crimes?".

Dr Rouhani added: "In the face of these crimes, the United Nations remains silent and does not take any firm, binding position, and Western powers also support such crimes".

The president described clear intervention in an independent country such as Lebanon a very rare thing in history and addressed the interventionists: "Who are you and by relying on what power are you carrying out such things? How much do you think money can work?"

Dr Rouhani said: "It is shameful and embarrassing for a Muslim country in the region to beg from the Zionist Regime to bombard the Lebanese people. We do not know any kind of such action in the history of an Islamic country, which reflects the inexperience of the people who came to power in these countries".

The president emphasised: "Whether you like it or not, we, as the Islamic Republic of Iran, will support the oppressed".

Rouhani further emphasised the necessity of strengthening national power of our country, declaring: "Part of the national power is in the military field, a part in the people, political field and economic field, and everything that is related to our national power must be strengthened".

"The fact that Iran is a transit route for the region and politically effective in the region and is at the negotiating table to defend our nation's rights and create economic prosperity, indicates our national strength in political, economic and cultural fields," he continued.

The president said: "Promoting division between Shiites and Sunnis and different ethnic groups is one of the conspiracy of the enemies, and we must strive for unity between tribes and religions as possible".

"If hope and public trust are undermined, we will surely fail, Islam is a religion of hope," the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran went on to say.

The president stressed: "No one denies the existence of problems in different areas, but at the same time we hope for a better future and a more prosperous country, and I have no doubt that we will pass through problems, and on this path, national power and preservation of unity and integrity can be a solution to help us pass through the issues and problems".


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