IRNA - President Hassan Rouhani described Saturday, May 23 which coincides with the third day of the Iranian month of Khordad, as an important date in the country's history as it marks the liberation of the city of Khorramshahr from the Ba'athist army occupation.

The city of Khorramshahr in the southwestern province of Khuzestan was liberated from the occupation of the Iraqi army led by toppled Saddam Hussein in May 24, 1982 thanks to sacrifices of brave Iranian combatants.

Iranian people always remember that day, President Rouhani said today in Tehran.

After Khorramshahr liberated, the Iranian nation proved that their determination will overcome every obstacle even when the enemies have the most modern weapons, the President noted.

Khorramshahr, which had been occupied by the then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran 1980-88, was liberated by a landmark operation of the Iranian forces on May 24, 1982.

The brave Iranian forces through a landmark operation code-named Beit-ul-Moqaddas could recapture that part of the Iranian soil.

Iraq�s eight years of the imposed war claimed the lives of 230,000 Iranian soldiers and left near 600,000 war-disabled. About 43,000 Iranians were captivated by the Iraqi forces and many others gone missing.

The liberation of Khorramshahr was the end of the [global] arrogance's big plot, the president added.

Elsewhere, President Rouhani elaborated on efforts made in the country to counter coronavirus pandemic, saying that the COVID-19 is in the phase of control in ten out of 31 Iranian provinces as it has been managed well.

The deadly coronavirus radiating from Wuhan, China, in December 2019 has affected over 5,300,000 people across the world and killed more than 340,000 people; meanwhile, the number of the dead in Iran is over 7,200.

Referring to a decrease in the number of the dead in Iran according to the reports, the president said the figure indicates that the virus in under control; however, the health protocols should still be followed.

Two days ago, the president said that holy sites and religious places in the country will be allowed to re-open after Eid al-Fitr, the end of holy month of Ramadan, under the instructions that should be followed by the participants.