All Iranian Borders Secure, Campaign on Drug Trafficking Continues

"Good security prevails at the borders of Islamic Iran despite the existing threats," General Rezayee said in the Southwestern province of Khuzestan on Tuesday.

He underlined highly good security measures at the Eastern borders of Iran, shared with Pakistan and Afghanistan, saying, "Our efforts continue powerfully to fight against the smuggling of goods and trafficking of drugs."

General Rezayee said that the Iranian border guards and their commanders have very good cooperation with their counterparts in the neighboring states to establish desirable security at all borders and prevent the traffic of foreigners.

In relevant remarks on Monday, Iranian Police Chief Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari warned that production of different types of narcotics had sorely grown in Afghanistan since the US started war against the country in 2001.

"Production of narcotics has grown nearly 50-folded since the presence of Americans in Afghanistan," General Ashtari told reporters in the bordering province of Sistan and Balouchestan in Southeastern Iran.

He added that seizure of trafficked illicit drugs had also highly increased after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, saying that 4,000 Law Enforcement Police forces had been martyred in the fight against drug traffickers.

General Ashtari said that over 60% of the drugs trafficked into Iran were seized by the police forces in Sistan and Balouchestan province due to its adjacency to Afghanistan which is the largest producer of narcotics in the world.

Also, late last month, General Ashtari had described Iran as a pioneering state in campaign against drug trafficking, and said, "We have declared our information and needs to the international organizations and I should say that we have not pinned hope on their aid."

"We do not have hope that the international organizations can seriously confront" the cultivation and production of narcotics in Afghanistan, General Ashtari said.

Iran is in the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking and thousands of Iranian police forces have been so far martyred to protect the world from the danger of drugs.

The Iranian anti-narcotic police have always staged periodic operations against drug traffickers and dealers, but the latest reports - which among others indicate an improved and systematic dissemination of information - reveal that the world's most forefront and dedicated anti-narcotic force (as UN drug-campaign assessments put it) has embarked on a long-term countrywide plan to crack down on the drug trade since a decade ago.

Iranian officials have recently warned that the US sanctions which pressure the country economically may leave negative impacts on the country's ability to fight against drug trafficking and prevention of narcotics' transit to other parts of the world, including Europe.

The Iranian police officials maintain that drug production in Afghanistan has undergone a 50-fold increase since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

Afghan and western officials blame Washington and NATO for the change, saying that allies have "overlooked" the drug problem since invading the country nearly 18 years ago.

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