IRNA – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei agreed with the Iranian government's suggestion to spend 150 million dollars for fighting particulate pollutants in Khuzestan Province, southwest Iran, said a parliamentarian from Khuzestan on Tuesday.

In the budget bill of the next Iranian year [starting from March 21, 2018], the government had suggested to spend the amount to solve the problem of the dust storms and electricity in the province, but it needed the Supreme Leader's permission, said Jalil Mokhtar.

Quoting Head of Planning and Budget Organization of Iran Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, Mokhtar said that Ayatollah Khamenei agreed with the suggestion on Monday evening.

From the 150 million dollars, 100 million dollars will be spent to counter the dust problem and the rest in the electricity problems.

Dust storms, most of which are foreign-soil rooted, have become a headache for Iran in the recent years. The pollution frequently cancels flights, shuts down the schools, and most importantly, causes a lot of health, especially respiratory, problems for people of the region, in particular senior citizens and children.