TEHRAN -- Iran accepted the Resolution 598 out of wisdom and not out of fear, Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said here on Tuesday.

Addressing a conference on adjusting the urban facilities for the handicapped, disabled war veterans and senior citizens, Hashemi Rafsanjani said ""We accepted the resolution to avoid a serious danger as we became aware that the enemy was going to launch destructive chemical (weapons) attacks on Iran's big cities.""
In July 1987 the UN Security Council had unanimously passed Resolution 598, urging Iraq and Iran to accept a ceasefire, withdraw their forces to internationally recognized boundaries, and settle their frontier disputes by negotiations held under UN auspices.
Rafsanjani described the disabled war veterans as living martyrs, and appreciated the efforts by the municipalities to facilitate their social activity.
During the eight years of the Saddam Hussein regime's imposed war on the country (1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war), Iran succeeded to defeat the enemy with the help of these heroes (war veterans and martyrs), the senior cleric noted
He said the war veterans chose the path consciously and were fully aware of the dangers they faced.
He then urged the whole society to pay special attention to the people with special needs.
Hashemi Rafsanjani, who also chairs the Assembly of Experts, described the senior citizens as important components of the society with invaluable experiences who are entitled to live a comfortable life