Supreme Leader's take on the need to preserve the environment

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on the occasion of National Tree Planting Day in Iran that developing clean energy, including nuclear power, should be taken seriously to preserve the environment.

The Supreme Leader said on Sunday while planting two saplings that tree planting is a religious, revolutionary act, the same as preserving trees.

He also emphasized that destruction of forests and environment is against national interests and destroying the woods for construction is detrimental to the nation, except for emergency reasons.

The Supreme Leader described the environment issue as one the most basic issues of the country, emphasizing preservation of water and soil as two great assets of nations and calling on the officials to follow experts’ instructions in this regard.

Ayatollah Khamenei also stressed preventing illegal hunting and protecting the wildlife, tasking the Department of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture with preventing agricultural land-use change.

Developing non-fossil energy, like nuclear energy which is increasingly used in the world and the countries in the region are moving toward it and wind and solar energies, should be taken seriously, he underlined.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi planted an almond sapling in northern Tehran on the occasion of National Tree Planting Day and Natural Resources Week on Sunday.

During the tree-planting ceremony, President Raisi also inaugurated a project on reforestation of 1,250 hectares of vicinity of Tehran. The project is named the Green Belt.

Earlier, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei planted two saplings on the occasion. National Tree Planting Day and Natural Resources Week is when many Iranians across the country try to plant trees or take care of them.