"Foreign troops in Afghanistan have created numerous problems for the Afghans and the people in the region," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said, addressing senior Pakistani journalists at Lahore Press Club on Wednesday.
He said that some western countries headed by the United States are the main reasons for regional and global instabilities.
"The main problems of the region are related to the West's dual policies, which are evident in the Persian Gulf region and in countries like Afghanistan," he stated.
Mehman-Parast said that the US and some of its allies "sow discord and tension in the region to achieve their own interests".
Eastern Iran borders Afghanistan, which is the world's number one opium and drug producer. Iran's geographical position has made the country a favorite transit corridor for drug traffickers who intend to smuggle their cargoes from Afghanistan to drug dealers in Europe.
Iran spends billions of dollars and has lost thousands of its police troops in the war against traffickers. Owing to its rigid efforts, Iran makes 85 percent of the world's total opium seizures and has turned into the leading country in drug campaign.
Over the past five years, it has contributed more than $50 million annually to Afghan anti-narcotics efforts, but Iranian police officials maintain that drug production in Afghanistan has undergone a 40-fold increase since the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.
Late in May 2010, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura acknowledged increased drug production in Afghanistan, and praised Iran's activities and efforts in fighting drug plantation, production and trafficking.
While Afghanistan produced only 185 tons of opium per year under the Taliban, according to the UN statistics, since the US-led invasion, drug production has surged to 3,400 tons annually. In 2007, the opium trade reached an estimated all-time production high of 8,200 tons.
Afghan and Western officials blame Washington and NATO for the change, saying that allies have "overlooked" the drug problem since invading the country nearly 10 years ago.
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Iran warned that the foreign forces' presence in Afghanistan has fanned insecurity in the region and created different problems for the people of the war-torn country.
News ID 183588
