TEHRAN: Thousands of Iranian forces have been martyred in anti-narcotics operations to protect the world from the danger of drugs which truly proves the Islamic Republic plays a key role in the sphere.
Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past decades.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has dedicated 4,000 martyrs and around 12,000 veterans to defend humanity against narcotics and illegal drugs.
Nearly 92% of the world’s opium discoveries are related to Iran, and 59% of the world’s morphine discoveries and 27% of the world’s heroin discoveries are made by Iran, he noted.
Iran, meanwhile, is responsible for approximately 59% of morphine seizures and 27% of heroin confiscations worldwide.
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Vienna called on the international community to support Iran’s fight in anti-narcotics operations on borders.
Mohsen Naziri Asl has urged the international community, especially countries that benefit the most from the reduction in drug trafficking, to support Iran’s fight against international drug trafficking.
The Islamic Republic of Iran remains one of the major transit routes for the trafficking of drugs from Afghanistan as well as the smuggling of precursors into it.
Iran has a 900-kilometer border with Afghanistan and has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Iran seized over one thousand tons of Afghan narcotics in the past year, with many Iranian law enforcement officers losing their lives, according to Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Amir Saeed Iravani.
Eskandar Momeni, in late October 2023, made the remarks in a meeting with Markus Potzel, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Afghanistan on Sunday in Tehran.
The head of the anti-narcotics body emphasized the readiness of the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate with the United Nations and implement alternative cultivation plans, sustainable development, and a reduction in opium production in Afghanistan.
Momeni also highlighted Iran’s cooperation with the United Nations offices and the implementation of joint plans and measures in the field of combating narcotics.
Appreciating Iran’s actions in various regional fields, especially the fight against illegal drugs, Markus Potzel asked Iran to help the United Nations and its mission to achieve a sustainable solution.
Over the past year, more than 2,700 kilograms of illicit drugs were confiscated in Iran’s southern province of Bushehr.
General Heidar Sousani has told Mehr News Agency that 3,193 criminals were also arrested in this regard over the past year.
Some 59 drug traffickers and 758 drug dealers have been detained, he said
Momeni added that addiction growth has been stopped in Iran thanks to adopting a new people-based approach in the fight against narcotics.
The International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, or World Drug Day, is marked on 26 June every year to strengthen action and cooperation in achieving a world free of drug abuse.
If the Islamic Republic turns a blind eye to the transit of drugs for a moment, the drug tsunami will affect the whole world, especially the Western countries.
The reason is that the geographical location of Iran on the Balkan route, linking Afghanistan to Iran, then passing through Turkey, represents the shortest distance and most direct land route to European countries.
However, the Islamic Republic has been taking constructive steps in this regard in a manner that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has praised the country’s efforts to fight against narcotics trafficking.
The organization has also officially announced that the world’s first place in the discovery of opium, heroin, and morphine belongs to Iran.( Courtesy: Mehr News)
