Iran Has Paid High Price for Combatting Illicit Drugs: UN Envoy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Gholam-Hossein Dehqani reiterated the country’s resolve to fight against drug trafficking and said the Islamic Republic has paid a high price for the campaign.
Addressing the third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Dehqani explained Iran’s stance over the global drugs dilemma.
He said some 4,000 Iranian police officers have been martyred and 12,000 others injured in the clashes with drug traffickers.
Dehqani further pointed to Iran’s record in drug seizures, which is the highest in the world, and strongly criticized the huge rise in poppy cultivation and opium production in Afghanistan and the lack of cooperation on the part of the international community to control the situation.
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 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past 30 years.
