TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Iran will never ignore humane principles to confront ruthlessness, adding that this has been an honor for the nation as it refused to retaliate Saddam’s chemical attack on Sardasht city in 1987.

Zarif said that the UN inspected several times Iran's concerns over the Iraqi use of chemical weapons, as well as Baghdad’s claim that Iran had also used chemical weapns.

The UN concluded that Saddam's regime was the only user of chemical weapons and Iranians didn't do so even as a deterring tool, Iran's top diplomat added.

Zarif noted that Iran at the time voiced its concerns about Iraq's use of chemical weapons to the world, the UN and the Security Council, but the world powers whose interests were dependent on supporting the invasive Iraqi regime, kept silent.

The UN Security Council released reports of Iraq's use of chemical weapons one after another, but it never took action and never condemned Iraq even when they bombed Iranian cities and civilians, the official stressed.

Zarif also said that the United States still continues, as it did in those days, to claim that it is concerned about international laws; while it blocks the supply of medicine for victims of those chemical attacks and other patients in Iran.

He stressed that the US does not recognize human basics as it has done even during the coronavirus epidemic, but Iran has successfully fought the disease just as it overcame the chemical patients' problem.

Tens of thousands of Iranians were killed and wounded by chemical weapons during the 1980-1988 Iraqi imposed war on Iran. Around 100,000 Iranians are still living with the effects, which include long-term respiratory problems, eye and skin problems as well as immune system disorders, psychological disorders, genetic disorders, and probably cancers.

Sardasht is a city in Northwestern Iran. According to the 2006 census, its population was 37,000. It lies in the West Azarbaijan province. It was the first city in which civilians were attacked with chemical weapons by former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein during the imposed Iraqi war on Iran.

The population of Sardasht is Kurdish. Sardasht is also known for the many villages around it and their reliability on the city's market.

On June 28, 1987, Iraqi aircraft dropped what Iranian authorities believed to be mustard gas bombs on Sardasht, in two separate bombing runs on four residential areas.

Sardasht was the first town in the world to be gassed. Out of a population of 20,000, 25% are still suffering severe illnesses from the attacks.