Iran’s Zarif Pays Tribute to Sardasht Chemical Attack Victims
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif paid homage to the victims of a 1987 chemical bombing of the northwestern city of Sardasht by the Iraqi army under former dictator Saddam Hussein, calling the chemical attack “a dark spot in contemporary history”.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi, in a ceremony on Friday, read out Zarif’s message issued on the occasion of the anniversary of the Sardasht chemical attack.
“Undoubtedly, the chemical bombardment of Sardasht is one of the most bitter memories remained for the Iranians since the eight years of the imposed war…,” Zarif said, adding, “This stain of disgrace will remain on the foreheads of the perpetrators and supporters of this crime forever.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with the legal, religious and ethical norms on the prohibition of Weapons of Mass Destruction, insists on its principled policy of condemning the use of chemical weapons at any time, any place and under any circumstances, and considers the complete elimination of the remaining stockpiles of chemical weapons of the US, the only holder of those weapons…, as a key step towards achieving a world free of WMDs,” Zarif stated in the message.
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.
