MP Warns against Increased Smuggling of Iran’s Soil

An Iranian MP has warned that Iran’s soil is being increasingly smuggled to other countries, expressing dissatisfaction with the failure of related bodies to identify and arrest the smugglers.

Iranian lawmaker Abbas Papizadeh has warned against an increase in the smuggling of Iran’s soil, blaming the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) and other related organizations for failing to address the issue and identifying smugglers.

According to a Farsi report by ICANA, commenting on the status quo of soil smuggling in Iran and details of a bill recently passed [by the Iranian Parliament] to protect the country’s soil, Papizadeh said the bill was proposed in the previous Parliament two years ago, but the government asked for an opportunity to redraft and revise it prior to resubmitting it to the incumbent parliament.

“A few days ago, the government handed over the revised bill to the Parliament, where it has been placed on the agenda of its Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Commission.”

A legal vacuum [in the country], along with a lack of transparency in [its customs] regulations, in the past few years have led to an increase in the smuggling of the Iranian soil, he regretted.

Slamming the poor performance of the responsible organizations in preventing the smuggling of the Iranian soil, Papizadeh said the random and frequent discovery of soil cargos being smuggled shows how serious the situation is.

“It takes several hundred years for each square centimetre of soil to be formed. Soil is among a country’s national and intergenerational resources, the sale of which is, in a way, prohibited. We are solely permitted to sell minerals such as decorative stones. This is while, currently, fertile soils are smuggled in the form of minerals.”

The bill on soil protection aims to conserve the country’s national resource and prevent it from being smuggled, stressed the parliament member

In addition to this, certain industrial activities as well as oil and gas extraction operations have, over the long-term, contributed to the poisoning of Iran’s soil, he noted.

“In fact the oil products used for digging oil wells in some regions have permeated through the surrounding soil. No one feels responsible in this regard.”

 

Damages Caused by Unrestrained Use

Due to a number of problems and [legal] gaps, Iran’s Department of Environment (DoE) is no longer taking legal actions in this regard, he said.

“Like the DoE, the Oil Ministry and Industry, Mine and Trade Ministry are also not very responsive. Although the amount of damages inflicted on the environment has increased considerably, no assessment has been carried out [of it] yet.”

Therefore, Papizadeh added, the need to safeguard the right of usufruct of the country’s soil is also stipulated in the bill.

He noted that issues pertaining to improving soil productivity and curbing excessive use of soil are also addressed in the bill.

IFP Editorial Staff

The IFP Editorial Staff is composed of dozens of skilled journalists, news-writers, and analysts whose works are edited and published by experienced editors specialized in Iran News. The editor of each IFP Service is responsible for the report published by the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website, and can be contacted through the ways mentioned in the "IFP Editorial Staff" section.

Recent Posts

Iran Judiciary chief orders review of pardon request for 2 detained journalists

The spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary announced that two detained Iranian journalists, convicted of collaborating with…

3 hours ago

Iran hands death sentences to 3 Israel spies over their role in nuclear scientist assassination

An Iranian court has sentenced three individuals affiliated with Israel to death after they were…

7 hours ago

Iran says to respond to Israel’s assault at appropriate time

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has warned that Tehran will give a proper response…

7 hours ago

Judiciary: Jamshid Sharmahd dies before execution of death sentence

A spokesperson for Iran’s Judiciary announced that Jamshid Sharmahd, leader of the “Tondar” terrorist group…

7 hours ago

Israeli PM considers offering millions to Hamas for release of hostages

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed offering Hamas “several million dollars” for each Israeli…

8 hours ago

Israel’s army struggling with shortage of soldiers: Report

Israel’s military is facing a critical manpower problem as it runs short of thousands of…

8 hours ago