Iran: Gov’t Officials, Urban Managers Taken to Task Over Air Pollution

A Tehran councilor has blamed government officials and urban managers for the lack of traction in combating the persistently toxic air pollution that has blighted the city’s residents over the past two weeks.
Speaking at Tehran City Council's Sunday meeting, Mohammad Alikhani slammed their incompetence and inefficiency for failing to give the city’s residents a breath of fresh air, stressing that air pollution has not occurred overnight and cannot be curbed overnight.  
“Curbing the problem requires professionalism and persistence. Before blaming the air pollution on Tehran Municipality, the distribution of duty among executive institutions should be considered,” ISNA quoted Alikhani as saying. 
"All the organizations involved in monitoring and controlling air quality have failed to fulfill their responsibility in this regard," he said.
Referring to the Clean Air Act passed by the parliament on July 16, 2017, the councilor said the act considers nine institutions responsible for controlling air pollution, namely the ministries of interior, oil, roads, energy, industries and health, along with the Department of Environment, the Traffic Police and the Institute of Standards and Industrial Research of Iran.