Iran’s envoy: Countering world drug problem requires collective, shared responsibility

Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations has underlined that Tehran bears the brunt of fighting narcotics trafficking without much help from the rest of the world, saying that confronting the world’s drug problem requires shared responsibility by all countries.

“Yesterday, 3 police officers were martyred in Iran in a clash with drug traffickers,” Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted on Thursday, a day after the three police officers were martyred and two others were injured in a clash with drug traffickers in Kahnuj County, in southeastern Kerman Province.

“In the absence of [such] dedicated effort, the Europeans have to go after every gram of narcotics on their streets. Countering world drug problem requires shared responsibility by all,” Gharibabadi added.

According to Press TV, Iran, sitting on a major drug trafficking route between Afghanistan on the one side and Europe and the Persian Gulf Arab states on the other side, has been a pioneer in fighting drug trafficking despite losing thousands of its security forces in clashes with drug traffickers as well as the heavy costs of the fight against narcotics.

Last month, Tehran announced that narcotics seizure at Iranian border crossings and airport gateways had increased by 523% in the quarter to May 21 against the same quarter in 2020.

Iran’s embassy in Austria, in marking the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on June 26, strongly criticized Western countries, as the main destination of narcotics seized by Iran, for their little support for the costly fight.

“Iran is at the forefront of the fight against illicit drug trafficking, which mainly enters Europe, while Iran receives little support for this costly fight,” the Iranian mission said in a tweet.

During a speech on the occasion, Gharibabadi said Western countries are not serious enough in confronting drug trafficking despite being the main destinations for the narcotics passing through Iran.

ME