Iranian President Hassan Rohani has dispatched his ministers of power and transportation and development to Gilan and Mazandaran provinces, where heavy snowfall and extreme weather conditions have wreaked havoc.
The ministers have been told to provide immediate relief from inaccessible roads and power and water outages.
Meanwhile, the interior minister has called on the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, the Army Chief and the defense minister to deploy armed forces on rescue missions in the affected provinces.
Daily life in the northern provinces has been brought to a complete halt by an unprecedented snowfall of one to two metres.
Reports on Tuesday indicated that schools would close in Tehran and many other major cities on Wednesday February 5 due to extreme cold and slippery conditions.
