TEHRAN -- Head of Iran’s Department of Environment says regional crises have made the fight against dust storms harder than usual.

Masoumeh Ebtekar made the statement in Bangkok where she was attending two environmental conferences, IRNA reported on Friday.

Ebtekar said that she had discussed the dust storms in a meeting with Asia-Pacific environment ministers.

Ebtekar added that the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Achim Steiner has described dust storms as a global issue which must be addressed by the UNEP.

SP/PA