TEHRAN (Iran News) – On Monday, Iran marked the 34th anniversary of a chemical attack on the city of Sardasht by Western-backed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and once again it was proved to the world how the West and supporters of the so-called human rights are silent against crimes of any regime that they support.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message marked the day in a message where he said the survivors of the attack fell victim to the Western countries’ inhumane policies twice.
In the message, Zarif said Sardasht, a city in Iran’s West Azarbaijan province, is a symbol of suffering under the use of chemical weapons against civilians and residential areas in the current era.
“Our beloved chemical attack survivors fell victim to some Western governments’ inhumane policies twice – once when Western companies gave Saddam’s regime chemical materials and technology for production of chemical weapons, with the representatives of their governments in the UN Security Council remaining silent, turning a blind eye to Saddam’s chemical crimes, and letting him continue using chemical weapons against combatants and civilians,” he said.
And again, the foreign minister continued, the same countries targeted the survivors during the era of former U.S. president Donald Trump, “when they imposed the most brutal, inhumane sanctions against Iran, preventing the delivery of medicine and medical equipment to Iran to alleviate the suffering of our beloved chemical attack survivors.”
The chemical bombardment of Sardasht was conducted on June 28, 1987, almost seven years after the regime of Saddam Hussein waged a war on Iran.
During the war, which lasted eight years, the Iraqi army continuously employed chemical weapons against Iranian combatants and civilians, leaving tens of thousands dead on the spot and many more suffering for years to come.
Over 100 people were killed in the Sardasht attack and thousands more were exposed to chemical agents.
After three decades, many of the survivors of the chemical attack still have to live with the long-term respiratory and even psychological effects of inhaling mustard gas used in the attack.
Elsewhere in his message, the chief Iranian diplomat noted that what weapons of mass destruction and sanctions have in common is their inability to aim at their intended targets.
Zarif said in spite of Iran’s endeavors and the cooperation of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the current U.S. administration has not given up on the failed policy of the previous administration against Iran and continues to impose illegal sanctions that prevent the country’s chemical attack survivors from accessing medicine and medical equipment.
The Western and especially the U.S.’s by supporting of such crimes also commit different version of crimes like imposing sanctions on the nations to bring them down no matter the people suffer.
The Westerners talk of human rights and humanitarian aids but in practice, they deprive the nations of their rights by imposing cruel sanctions to make the people suffer or give in.
The crime in Sardasht is one of so many examples of the crimes committed by a regime backed by the West. Sanctions on Iran, Yemen, Syria and other countries which resist against the West are of the other examples for West’s crimes which unfortunately go unnoticed and international bodies are forced to remain silent because they are managed by the West’s elements.
If the world community does not stand against such crimes and not punish the criminals, this sort of crime will continue by the support of the West and it even may encourage the offenders commit more offences.
Since 1987 that Sardasht was attacked by the Iraqi forces with chemical weapon, Iran has been waiting for a proper response by the international bodies regarding this crime and punishment of the culprits and especially those who provided Iraq with such deadly weapons but it has been in vain because there is a proverb which says “hawks will not pick out hawks’ eyes.” So we should not expect the Western-backed international bodies to have any proper response to the real culprits of this crime and we should ourselves find a way to make the world public well aware of such crimes.
As the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution says, Iran should become strong enough to get its right instead of begging it from the West and this can be materialized through being self-sufficient, independent and a strong country in defensive and even aggressive military power, and God willing it is happening gradually and Iran is becoming a regional power that no one can dare to have ill-intention against it.
