Tasnim � Head of Iran�s Civil Defense Organization Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali highlighted the organization�s preparedness to repel any incidents and said the country has been boosting its infrastructure to counter chemical and nuclear threats.


�Civil defense exists in all countries in�the world and it means defending and protecting people from various security, natural and unnatural threats,� Brigadier General Jalali said in a speech on Saturday.

�In some cities�like Tehran�there are nuclear centers and nuclear and chemical treatment centers that can cause risks,� he noted.

�So we have to be prepared for incidents that may occur,� the official said, adding, �Of course, in our plans, we have anticipated some units to counter such threats in various cities and organizations so that they can be used when necessary to eliminate chemical and nuclear contamination.�

He further pointed to the 1987 chemical bombing of the northwestern city of Sardasht by the Iraqi army under former dictator Saddam Hussein, and said some say the�attack�occurred because of the country�s weakness during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

�So if we are weak, the country may come under attacks by the enemy,� Brigadier General Jalali said.

Located in Iran's northwestern province of West Azarbaijan, Sardasht was the third city in the world after Japan�s Hiroshima and Nagasaki to become a target of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

On June 28 and 29, 1987, Iraqi bombers attacked 4 crowded parts of Sardasht with chemical bombs and engulfed its residents, women and children, young and old, with fatal chemical gases.

The attacks killed 116 citizens and injured over 5,000.