President Hassan Rouhani made the remark at the 10th Environmental National Award ceremony here on Sunday.
Noting that the government has a duty to provide ‘clean energy’ for its people, President Rouhani recounted the country’s measures toward this goal by referring to the ban on petrochemical gasoline and replacing it with Euro IV gasoline, dismantling old and dangerous cars, and replacing mazut - a heavy, low quality fuel oil- with gas.
Putting emphasis on the significance of collective cooperation in preserving the environment, the President said the religious notion of 'sin' should expand to include any wrongdoing human beings commit in relation to the environment.
Elsewhere he touched upon the issue of the anti-Iranian sanctions, saying the sanctions have left an adverse impact on the country’s environmental scene.
“The cruel unjust sanctions must be lifted so that doors to investment would open. Sanctions must be lifted so that environmental and youth employment issues would resolve and the country’s economy reach a desirable state,” he said.
Rouhani also called on collective efforts among regional countries to settle Iran’s environmental issues such as the haze and dust particles that arrive in Iran from Iraq and which, according to Iranian lawmaker Mohammad-Mehdi Shahriari, are polluted with depleted uranium due to the US military's use of the prohibited weapon in the neighboring country.