Iran Fighting 'Biblical Plague' Of Locusts

Iran Deploys Military to Battle ‘Biblical Plague’ of Locusts [Watch]

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz  

Southern Iran is being infested for the second year in a row by a huge swarm of locusts described as the worst in decades. The infestation is only the newest threat in a wave of troubles that has hit the country that has threatened Israel and the US countless times. Iran is was hit particularly hard by the coronavirus and the pandemic also led to oil prices plummeting to record lows, adding financial woes to the countries list of troubles. Economic sanctions led by President Trump multiplied the impact. 

Hananya Naftali@HananyaNaftali

Locust plague in southern #Iran.

This happened in Egypt too, thousands of years ago, when Pharaoh messed with the God of Israel.

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11:00 AM - May 18, 2020

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Mohammad Reza Mir, a spokesman for the ministry’s Plant Protection Organization (PPO), said the desert locusts attacked more than 494,000 acres of orchards and farmland in seven of Iran’s 31 provinces, the semi-official news agency ILNA reported, threatening to destroy crops worth more than $7 billion.

“The military have promised to help fight the desert locusts, including by providing all-terrain vehicles for use in areas which are hard to access,” Mir told ILNA. “Last year the military provided personnel and vehicles, and that was a big help.”

The secretary of the Chabahar Agricultural Trade Union told Iran’s ILNA news website, “Compared with last year, the swarms of desert locusts are much larger, and it is safe to claim that the recent attacks are unprecedented.”

A wave of locusts swept through East Africa last year, arriving in Iran, but the current wave is estimated to be 20 times larger and is described as the worst in 70 years. This wave very much resembles the Biblical plague in this respect, coming as part of a wave of catastrophes that left the land of Egypt bereft of any food.