TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on world countries, particularly the European states, to share the burden of fighting a costly war on drug trafficking.

Addressing a session of Iran’s Anti-Narcotics Headquarters in Tehran on Sunday, Rouhani said Europe is an attractive destination of narcotics produced in Afghanistan,

“They [Europeans] and other countries should realize that the problem of narcotics is not Iran’s alone, and they need to shoulder responsibility in this regard.”

Rouhani also lauded the country’s law enforcement forces for their dedication to the fight against narcotics, saying such efforts have well blocked the transit of drugs to the West, most notably to Europe, through Iran.

Iran is on a major transit route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the country’s war on drug-traffickers has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police forces over the past 35 years.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Iran is netting eight times more opium and three times more heroin than all other countries in the world combined.

MD/P