Conflict Over Iran Could Push 32 Million Into Poverty, UNDP Warns

PARIS, April 30. /TASS/. The conflict over Iran threatens to push more than 30 million people into poverty in 160 countries, UN Development Program (UNDP) Head Alexander De Croo told AFP agency on the sidelines of a G7 development meeting in Paris. "We did a study after six weeks of war and estimated that even if the conflict ended at that point, 32 million people would be pushed into precarity in 160 countries," he said. According to UNDP, the poverty problem amid the conflict over Iran and the resulting energy crisis will particularly affect sub-Saharan Africa, as well as some Asian countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia. To prevent the situation from worsening, at least $6 billion in subsidies for energy and food are needed, according to UNDP estimates. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing missile and nuclear threats allegedly emanating from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation targeting Israel. US facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia were also hit.