Authorities in the Iranian capital of Tehran shut down all schools on Nov. 16 due to alarming air pollution levels, while political factions accuse one another of irresponsibility on the issue. Primary schools and kindergartens have been closed in the city since Nov. 14, as a thick layer of smog has covered the city’s landscape.

The geographical situation of the capital, which is surrounded by mountains, consumption of low-quality fuel because of international sanctions and industrial pollution have been declared the main reasons for the deaths of 412 citizens in the past 23 days, according to Habib Kashani, a member of Tehran’s municipal council.

On Nov. 15, Kashani accused Iran's Environmental Protection Organization of “ineffectiveness” and “incompetence,” saying, “The government and the [Tehran] municipality have announced that they are not blameful on this issue. So sole blameful are people who are losing their lives!”

On Nov. 16, President Hassan Rouhani wrote on his Persian-language Twitter account, “Over the last three years we’ve shifted to consume [natural] gas in industrial centers and power plants to reduce air pollution.” He also tweeted that his administration has replaced low-quality fuel with the Euro-4 standard fuel and has phased out 809,000 old vehicles.