TEHRAN – The Supreme Leader has issued an order to withdraw a sum of $500 million from the National Development Fund for development projects in the southeastern province of Sistan-Balouchestan.

The news was announced on Tuesday by Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, telling about Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s orders for development of the underprivileged province, IRIB reported.

In a related statement, Health Minister Mehdi Qazizadeh Hashemi said in the past three years half a million people in Sistan-Baluchestan were insured.

SP/PA