Iranian General: Israel Creating Drought by Causing Clouds Not to Release Rain

An Iranian general on Monday accused Israel of manipulating the weather to prevent rain in Iran, adding that his country is facing "cloud and snow theft."

Brigadier General Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran's Civil Defense Organization, said the "changing climate in Iran is suspect" during a press conference, the Times of Israel reported.

"Foreign interference is suspected to have played a role in climate change," Jalali said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. "Israel and another country in the region have joint teams which work to ensure clouds entering Iranian skies are unable to release rain."

"On top of that, we are facing the issue of cloud and snow theft," he added.

Iranian meteorological service chief Ahad Vazife had a rebuttal, however: It is not possible for one country to steal another country's clouds.

Jalali "probably has documents of which I am not aware, but on the basis of meteorological knowledge, it is not possible for a country to steal snow or clouds," ISNA quoted Vazife as saying, according to the Times.

"Iran has suffered a prolonged drought, and this is a global trend that does not apply only to Iran," Vazife said."Raising such questions not only does not solve any of our problems, but will deter us from finding the right solutions," he added, in apparent reference to Jalali's claims.

Iranian officials are calling for calm after protests broke out over the weekend concerning the country's drought and what critics call the government's mismanagement of resources.

Jalali's comments are not the first time an Iranian official has floated conspiracy theories about other countries stealing Iran's rain, the Times noted. Former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad previously accused Western nations of causing drought in Iran, claiming that "European countries used special equipment to force clouds" to precipitate on their lands.

Washington, D.C. councilman Trayon White (D.) espoused a similar theory about Jews controlling the weather in a Facebook video in March, blaming snowfall and climate change on "the Rothschilds controlling the climate." He later apologized and said he did not realize such language could come off as anti-Semitic.

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