‘Iran key player in war against narcotics’

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli says Iran is the most important and the most powerful country in the campaign against the transit of narcotics.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Rahmani-Fazli added that the country pays the heavy financial and human costs in the war against drug smuggling.

“If neighboring countries want to settle the problem of narcotics in the world, they must fulfill their commitments in this regard and help Iran on this path,” the minister added.

In a meeting with Administrator of the United Nations Development Program Helen Clark on October 22, Rahmani-Fazli said Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are to establish a joint center to organize operations against drug trafficking.

He called on the international community to assume a responsible role vis-à-vis the smuggling of drugs.

The United Nations reports indicate that narcotics production and drug smuggling have increased in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to kingpins in Europe.

Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past three decades.