Iran TV: Sandstorm Shuts Offices, Schools in Tehran, Region

A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)
A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)
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Iran TV: Sandstorm Shuts Offices, Schools in Tehran, Region

A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)
A sandstorm engulfs a mosque in Iran's capital Tehran on May 17, 2022. (AFP)

Schools and government offices closed in Iran's capital and several other cities in the country on Monday, after yet another sandstorm blanketed Tehran and the surrounding region.

State-run TV warned of poor air quality and advised the elderly, those sick and children to take precautions. Banks and the Tehran Stock Exchange would remain open, the report said.

This is the second time that Tehran shuttered schools and government offices and the fourth bad sandstorm since mid-April. Schools and government offices in Tehran were closed for the first time on account of a sandstorm in May. However, the country’s west, along the border with Iraq, has seen frequent closures of schools and offices due to sandstorms, AFP said.

Tehran is among the most polluted cities in the world. Experts blame poor government policies, desertification and low water levels, as well as climate change, for the frequency and intensity of recent sandstorms.



Night-time Russian Attack Kills 4 People in Ukraine's Capital

Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Night-time Russian Attack Kills 4 People in Ukraine's Capital

Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with a barrage of drones and missiles in the early morning on Saturday, leaving at least four people dead.

Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, the statement said.

The four were killed after a shot-down missile fell over the Shevchenkivskyi district, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko. There was also falling debris in the Desnyansky district, he said.

Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that in the Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building, adding that a water supply pipeline was also damaged.

Klitschko also said the Lukyanivska metro station was shuttered after the attacks damaged its glass entrance.

Drones and missiles were shot down across Ukraine, in the Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk regions.