Call for Iranian anti-Aids campaign

Iranian health officials say tackling Aids should be given priority among the government's policies.

In an interview with the Iranian news agency IRNA, a senior official in the health department of the central Iranian city of Isfahan, Masood Zandiyeh, said a high-profile anti-Aids campaign was needed to fight what he described as a dramatic rise of the disease in Iran.

Mr Zandiyeh said Iran had nearly 3,000 people, mostly men, infected with HIV, the virus that causes Aids. He said most infections were passed by drug injections. Officials also blame polygamy for the rise of Aids in Iran.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service