washington, July 13: NASA satellite images of Iraq show a large haze carrying two billion tons of sand and dust is leaving the country and heading towards its eastern neighbor Iran.
The dust storm, which had originated in Saudi Arabia, was blown into Iraq last week. It is now heading for Iran. It will be the second dust storm to hit the country, the Dubai-based Al-Arabiyya TV reported.
The weeklong sandstorm forced visiting US Vice President Joe Biden to cancel his flight to Kurdistan and interfered with the schedule of his meetings in Baghdad.
The previous storm, which hit Iran last week, closed down the capital city of Tehran for two days. With news of the impending storm, Tehran Emergency Medical Service is, once again, on alert.
Many domestic flights have been cancelled due to thick dust, including those between Tehran and the southern Iranian city of Abadan.
——-Agencies