Iran: US, allies fail to bring peace, stability to Afghanistan

Iranian ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, Gholamali Khoshrou, underlined the failure of the US-led coalition against terrorists in Afghanistan, and called on the international community to help the Kabul government in its ongoing fight against terrorism.

"More than a decade after its invasion, Afghanistan, the region and the world are not any safer,” Khoshrou said on Monday, addressing a session of the UN General Assembly.

He reiterated that the terrorist attacks across the globe had increased every year since the onset of Washington’s invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Khoshrou further expressed concern over a recent joint survey by the UN and the Afghan government, which revealed that opium production in the restive country had almost doubled so far in 2017 compared to last year.

According to the survey issued last week by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) the opium production rose by 87 percent and stands at a record level of 9,921 tons so far this year, compared to 5,291 tons in 2016.

Afghanistan is the world's top cultivator of poppy, from which opium and heroin are produced. The Taliban militants are heavily involved in the poppy cultivation and opium distribution especially in areas under their control.

EA