Ostad
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The United Nations anti-narcotics chief has praised Iran’s efforts in fight drug trafficking.
"…Iran takes a very active role to fight against illicit drugs," Yury Fedotov, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told reporters on Tuesday before an international meeting slated for March 13-14 in Vienna on global efforts to fight illicit drugs.
Fedotov added that nearly 390 tons of opium were seized by Iran in 2012 which is equivalent to 72 percent of all such seizures around the world.
"It is very impressive," he added.
The UNODC chief further made clear that the agency would continue its drug control programs in Iran although some countries including Britain and Denmark have stopped in recent years providing funding for UNODC drug control programs in the Islamic Republic.
"I don't believe that the international community would welcome this because it would mean, as a possible reaction from Iran, that all these huge quantities of drugs, which are now being seized by Iranians, would flow freely to Europe," he said.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used by smugglers as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Over the past three decades, the country has spent millions of dollars to seal its borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade, a lucrative business originating in Afghanistan, has also claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers.
"…Iran takes a very active role to fight against illicit drugs," Yury Fedotov, executive director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), told reporters on Tuesday before an international meeting slated for March 13-14 in Vienna on global efforts to fight illicit drugs.
Fedotov added that nearly 390 tons of opium were seized by Iran in 2012 which is equivalent to 72 percent of all such seizures around the world.
"It is very impressive," he added.
The UNODC chief further made clear that the agency would continue its drug control programs in Iran although some countries including Britain and Denmark have stopped in recent years providing funding for UNODC drug control programs in the Islamic Republic.
"I don't believe that the international community would welcome this because it would mean, as a possible reaction from Iran, that all these huge quantities of drugs, which are now being seized by Iranians, would flow freely to Europe," he said.
Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used by smugglers as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.
Over the past three decades, the country has spent millions of dollars to seal its borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade, a lucrative business originating in Afghanistan, has also claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers.
