An Iranian general has accused Israel of ‘manipulating weather’ to prevent rain over the Islamic republic. He said they also stole the country’s clouds.
Brigadier-General Gholam Jalali, head of Iran’s Civil Defence Organisation, alleged that his country was facing cloud ‘theft’ according to Metro UK.
He said, “The changing climate in Iran is suspicious. Foreign interference is suspected to have played a role in climate change,” insisting that the results from an Iranian scientific study ‘confirmed’ the claim. “Israel and another country in the region have joint teams which work to ensure clouds entering Iranian skies are unable to release rain.
“On top of that, we are facing the issue of cloud and snow theft,” he added.
Iran’s own meteorological service struck a sceptical note, however. Head of its meteorological service, Ahad Vazife, held a different view from that of the senior military officer.
He said, “General Jalali probably has documents of which I am not aware but on the basis of meteorological knowledge, it is not possible for a country to steal snow or clouds.
“Iran has suffered a prolonged drought, and this is a global trend that does not apply only to Iran. Raising such questions does not only solve any of our problems, but will deter us from finding the right solutions.”
Jalali’s allegations of weather pilfering were not the first time an Iranian official has accused the country’s foes of stealing its rain. Former President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in 2011 accused Western countries of devising plans to “cause drought” in Iran, adding that “European countries used special equipment to force clouds to dump” their water on their continent.
