RFERL:

For the first time, an Iranian environmental official has admitted that fertile soil from farms and pastures is being smuggled abroad.

The director-general of the Department of Environment's (DoE) Office of Water and Soil in Iran, Ali Moridi however insists that the smuggling is relatively controlled.

Although it is the first time that an Iranian government official explicitly admits Iranian fertile soil is smuggled out of the country in recent years, several social media reports had raised the alarm in recent years about smuggling on a massive scale.

In the past, footage of digging and collecting Iranian agriculture soil to be smuggled out were widely circulated on the social media.

Nevertheless, the authorities have dismissed past reports as "fake news" and totally unfounded.

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