Iranian envoy asks for international, UN action against rising drug trafficking in Afghanistan

Iran's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Gholam Hossein Dehqani urged international bodies, specially UN, to take concrete measures to confront drug trafficking in Afghanistan. Dehqani made the remark on Thursday in a meeting of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan. "The Islamic Republic regrets the rising narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan," the Iranian envoy said. He reiterated that the narcotics problem remains one of the serious challenges that Afghanistan is facing, saying, “This menace has hindered the advancement of the country towards development and has put the security of Afghanistan along with that of the region in danger.” “We strongly believe that those who carry the responsibility to combat narcotic drugs on behalf of the international community should think of more robust projects to eliminate poppy cultivation, narcotics trafficking and proceeds from drug trade,” he added. The United Nations reports indicate that narcotics production and drug smuggling have increased in Afghanistan since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001. Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to kingpins in Europe. Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug trafficking over the past three decades.