Speaking after a conference in Vienna on a UN program aimed at boosting coordinated counternarcotics efforts, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh noted that more than 3,700 Iranian police forces had been killed and nearly 11,000 others of them wounded, fighting drug traffickers.
He further stated that Tehran had taken successful measures in accordance with a trilateral agreement signed with Afghanistan and Pakistan to tackle the issue of illicit drugs in the region.
Iran enjoys 900 kilometers (560 miles) of common border with Afghanistan, which is held responsible for 90 percent of the world's illicit opium and heroin production.
Tehran accuses the Western military alliance of NATO and the US-led forces deployed in Afghanistan of involvement in the flow of narcotics from Afghanistan to other parts of the world.
The Islamic Republic has spent more than USD 700 million to seal the borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab, and Central Asian countries.
Foreign ambassadors residing in Tehran have frequently visited Iran's border areas, praising the country's efforts to fight drug trafficking.
press tv/281
Publish Date: 8 December 2011 - 12:29
Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the country has suffered the highest losses of life compared to the others in its fight against drug trafficking, Press TV reports.