Khamenei OKs Tapping Special Fund For Flood Relief As Last Resort
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
has approved drawing up to $2 billion from the country's National Development
Fund as a last resort for aid and reconstruction after catastrophic floods,
state media reported on April 15, Radio Farda reported on Monday.
The government said on April 14 that the floods had caused an estimated $2.5
billion in damage to roads, bridges, homes, and farmland. The floods, Iran's
worst in 70 years, had killed at least 76 people and forced more than 220,000
into emergency shelters, the government told lawmakers.
"Using the National Development Fund is authorized if no other sources are
available," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a letter to President Hassan
Rohani read out April 15 on state television.
However, Khamenei urged the government to look into other budgetary resources
to fund aid and reconstruction efforts before drawing from the sovereign fund.
Khamenei's letter did not give an amount but Morteza Shahidzadeh, who is in
charge of the fund, said earlier that Rohani had asked to withdraw $2 billion
and Khamenei had in principle agreed.
In Geneva, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
said April 15 that an estimated 2 million Iranians needed humanitarian
assistance as a result of the floods.