TEHRAN - The fight versus narcotics is very costly due to the intricacy of the mafia level of this business, an expense that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been paying alone for several years despite the support claims of the worldwide community.Iran is also called the very first station and the cutting edge of dealing with all sort of drugs due to its place on the European transit route of Afghan drugs.Some 1,080 tons of narcotics were discovered in the nation over the last Iranian calendar year (March 2021-March 2022), an increase of 14 percent year on year.Europe is the largest client of narcotics.
According to official and unofficial reports, more than 70 percent of the drugs produced in Afghanistan are sent to European countries for different purposes.Statistics reveal that 92 percent of opium drug discoveries are made by and in Iran, which shows the heavy weight of the nation to keep not just the region but the world safe.According to worldwide organizations, Afghanistan has been called the hub of drug production on the planet considering that 1992 and only 3 years after the withdrawal of the Soviet Union forces from this country.Afghanistan, which shares a 945-kilometer border with Iran, produces about 7 thousand tons of standard drugs every year, and this amount is minus commercial products such as glass and other narcotics.According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the production of opium in 2021 has increased by eight percent compared to 2020 in Afghanistan, reaching 6,800 tons, IRNA reported.Meanwhile, according to main reports of Iranian authorities, in addition to the production of opium, the production of glass has increased in Afghanistan after the Taliban came to power.The deputy head of the anti-narcotics headquarters has just recently stated that due to the political and governance modifications in Afghanistan as the main hub of opium production, the increase in the production and trafficking of the crystal drug has ended up being a severe concern.That is while Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada has actually provided a decree prohibiting the growing of poppy and other kinds of narcotic plants in Afghanistan.Need for global supportThe Iranian authorities have highlighted several times that the financial and financial capability of the country are not enough to combat against drugs and this quantity of work, and the continuation of dealing with this concern needs international support.Eskandar Momeni, the secretary general of the anti-narcotics headquarters, revealed last week that the expense to modify the anti-narcotics law will be sent to the parliament.This concern reveals the decision of the government to eliminate the scourge of drug addiction.Referring to the worldwide help to handle the drug transit network, Momeni stated that throughout these years, the Islamic Republic has actually been alone in the field of combating narcotics.
So far, there has been no assistance, specifically in the financial field, from worldwide companies to deal with drug transit, and the whole concern of this duty is on the shoulders of Iran, which considers itself culturally, religiously, and humanly accountable, Momeni regreted.
They not just do not assist Iran in this field, however in some cases they throw a spanner in the works.
During the 65th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs which took place in March 2022 in Vienna, Austria, Momeni contacted the United Nations to present an extensive and efficient action strategy to curb opium growing and production and to deal with the damaging issue of narcotics.Criticizing that regardless of numerous UN files and the constant focus on the concept of shared duty, Iran has had the least amount of worldwide assistance, despite its global anti-narcotics actions, hosting more than a couple of million refugees and battling terrorist risks in the region, he noted that it is time for the United Nations to provide a comprehensive and reliable action strategy to suppress opium growing and production to resolve the disastrous issue of narcotics.He also dealt with the issue of unilateral sanctions against Iran, stating that the actions of some countries in imposing harsh sanctions against Iran, politicizing global cooperation, and disrupting Irans unrelenting resist global drug networks is a clear violation of global law, human rights, and UN resolutions.At completion, Momeni made suggestions to the Commission to minimize challenges and enhance worldwide efforts to deal with narcotics trafficking, including, complete monetary, technical, and equipment support to countries at the forefront of combating worldwide drug and psychotropic substances trafficking.