Iranian response to quakes slammed

Iran’s government faced criticism yesterday over its response to two earthquakes that killed 306 people with complaints of a lack of tents.

There was also criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s decision to go ahead with an overseas trip.

Although on Sunday — less than 24 hours after disaster struck — officials announced search and rescue operations had finished and all survivors had been freed from the rubble, some locals expressed disbelief that authorities could have reached the most remote villages so soon.