As non-stop heavy downpours continued to wreak havoc upon Iran, the country's supreme leader expressed gratitude to the nation for Iranians' "mobilized efforts" and "spirit of solidarity" in their cooperation with the government-led relief process.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was addressing Iran's political elite as well as ambassadors from Muslim countries in the capital Tehran March 3, in a traditional speech for the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s first revelation. "There is still a lot more to be done to alleviate the pains of the flood-stricken," Khamenei told his audience, adding, "I have stressed to the authorities that the main task is reconstruction. … The damage must be compensated for."

A day earlier, Khamenei told top political and military officials that lessons must be learned from the devastating floods, saying, “The damage should have been predicted in advance and pre-emptive measure should have been taken.” He added that the floods “should be seen as a lesson so that all different aspects will be taken into consideration in various future projects such as the construction of dams, roads and railways as well as urban development.” Of note, the past few days saw a clash between President Hassan Rouhani and IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari over the latter’s blowing up of some roads in northern Iran to aid the removal of floodwaters.

Meanwhile, the devastation in affected areas continues, especially the two towns of Ma'moulan and Poldokhtar in the western Lorestan province, where dramatic scenes of houses being completely washed away have become commonplace.