Iran Paying for Global Security by Fighting against Illicit Drugs: Minister

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli underlined that the Islamic Republic is paying a huge price for its contribution to global peace and security by fighting against illicit drugs.

Speaking at a meeting with his Swiss counterpart Alain Berset in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Drugs, the Iranian interior minister said Iran is the front line in the fight against drug trafficking that originates from neighboring Afghanistan.

He further pointed to the number of Iranian forces losing their lives or suffering disabilities in the campaign against drugs, saying that the country is paying the price for global peace and security.

Berset, for his part, praised the measures taken by the Islamic Republic in the fight against narcotics trafficking and stressed the need for expanding international cooperation in this field.

In recent decades, Iran has been hit by drug trafficking, mainly because of its 936-kilometer shared border with Afghanistan, which produces more than 90% of the world’s opium.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Islamic Republic is netting eight times more opium and three times more heroin than all other countries in the world combined.

The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 3,700 Iranian police officers over the past 30 years.