Iran Press/Iran news: Writing a message to commemorate the 1987 Sardasht chemical attack, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described the attack as "a dark spot, and a stain in contemporary history," Iran Press reported.
The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, Seyyed Abbas Mousavi, in a ceremony on Friday, read out Zarif’s message issued on the occasion of the 32nd anniversary of the Sardasht chemical attack.
"Undoubtedly, the chemical bombardment of Sardasht is one of the most bitter memories which remain for Iranians from the era of eight years of imposed war…," Zarif said, adding, "This disgraceful and indelible stain 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 first city in the world to become a target of chemical attack and the third after Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki to become a target of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
On 28 and 29 June 1987, Iraqi bombers attacked four crowded districts of Sardasht with chemical bombs and engulfed its residents, women, and children, young and old, bringing death on a grand scale.
The chemical attacks killed at least 116 Sardasht citizens and injured over 5,000 others.
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