Zarif Rejects Pompeo’s ‘Unprofessional, Demagogic’ Flood Remarks

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif blasted US counterpart Mike Pompeo over his "unprofessional" and "demagogic" comments about Tehran's response to the unprecedented flash floods that have hit two dozen Iranian provinces, reminding the US of its own failure in dealing with the aftermath of similar natural disasters over the past years.

Since March 19, most of Iran -- 24 out of its 31 provinces -- has been affected by flash floods triggered by the heaviest downpours in the country in at least a decade.

Over 60 people have so far been killed in the natural disaster, which has also forced tens of thousands of people, mostly in villages, to evacuate their homes and move to emergency shelters. Hundreds of people have also been airlifted from the affected regions.

Rescue workers -- backed by the Iranian Armed Forces and locals -- have been busy providing relief aid to the flood-hit areas under the supervision of Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

However, Pompeo on Tuesday exploited the national emergency in Iran to once again attack the Islamic Republic, claiming that Tehran's response to the floods showed the level of what he called as "mismanagement in urban planning and in emergency preparedness."

Zarif, for his part, fired back at Pompeo in a statement, which was also posted on his official Twitter page, on Thursday.

"It seems that the US Secretary of State is unaware of the mismanagement of natural disasters in the US over the past two years, and hence opines—in an unprofessional, interventionist and demagogic manner—on Iran’s management of the horrific and unprecedented floods which simultaneously afflicted 24 provinces."