Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program could hinder Tehran’s campaign against drug traffickers, the UN warns.
Western nations have told Iran that they could cut off any new help to Iran’s anti-drug units unless Tehran halts its uranium enrichment activities but the EU has not yet decided on whether to trim its aid to Iran’s anti-drug fight, AP reported on Tuesday.
A “heroin tsunami” could hit Europe if the drug interdiction by Iran is weakened, warned Antonio Maria Costa, the director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. “ We should definitely assist Iran in this respect.”
Roberto Arbitrio, head of the UN drugs and crime office in Iran, said the war on drugs should be viewed as “a non-political area of mutual interest.”
Overall opium production in Afghanistan has more than doubled in the last four years and smuggling the drug into Iran is the first step toward reaching Western markets.
Afghanistan produced 93 percent of the world’s opium last year, and about 50 percent of the drugs leaving the country flowed towards Iran, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime says.
“Cooperating with Iran in Afghanistan on this and other issues is not a favor we do for Iran but something we need to do in our own interest,” said Barnett Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan at New York University.
MGH/PA
