“The revenues gained through the transit and trafficking of narcotics will increase organized crime and terrorism in Iran,” Taha Taheri said, addressing a conference on campaign against drug-trafficking attended by representatives of 12 countries and held in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe on Saturday.
He pointed to Iran’s hundreds of kilometers of shared border with Afghanistan, and said, “Countries which have common borders with Afghanistan can help that country to shift poppy cultivation and opium production to other (agro) products through appropriate security and economic plans and programs.”
Taheri reiterated that the main threat to Iran’s security and society is drug trafficking and transit of narcotics via Iran which inflicts massive human and financial losses on the country.
See article: Iran’s border police seize over 2 tons of narcotics in one week http://theiranproject.com/blog/2013/11/10/irans-border-police-seize-over-2-tons-of-narcotics-in-one-week/
Despite billions spent by the U.S. government to dissuade Afghan farmers from growing poppy Afghanistan is looking a a record high opium crop. Afghan opium profits are up by 133% since 20111, according to CBS news http://www.cbsnews.com/news/afghanistan-looking-at-a-record-high-opium-crop/).
Terrorist organizations in almost 30 countries now finance their activities, to a greater or lesser extent, through the highly profitable trade in prohibited drugs, including opium, heroin, hashish and marijuana.
In particular, drug trafficking has become increasingly important as a source of revenue for terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
The profits from opium and heroin help fund the insurgency in Afghanistan and result in more American troops getting killed in many case.
The US knows this but helps the insurgents anyway? See video: US military helping Taliban farmers grow opium http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2uKMqPKvU8
See report: How opium profits the Taliban http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/resources/taliban_opium_1.p
Iran insists that the US is helping Afghan farmers grow opium in many cases is making their job of drug interdiction more difficult (see report: US soldiers helping Afghan farmers grow heroin http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVp4883pmB4
Iran currently tops world drug addiction-rate list? Heroin is the street drug of choice in Iran today!
See video: Islamic Heroin Republic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOBUzptWW-8
It should be noted that heroin is not just a Iranian or Afghan problem.
A disturbing report from the U.S. Justice Department indicates that heroin availability is increasing here in the U.S. (source: Heroin availability http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs38/38661/heroin.htm).
See video: Afghan heroin making its way to Arizona http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccu70TS8F1Q