TEHRAN – Iranian Police Chief Hossein Ashtari has hailed as “desirable” the security situation along Iran’s common border with neighboring Afghanistan.

General Ashtari visited the border units in the southeastern province of Sistan-Balouchestan along the border with Afghanistan on Sunday night, Tasnim reported.

The police chief said the security existing at Iran’s southeastern border is a result of interaction and coordination between the border guards and locals.

He referred to the martyrdom of Iranian police forces in the fight against drug traffickers, saying international organizations should act responsibly by supporting the Islamic Republic in fighting drug smuggling.

Iran, which has a 900-kilometer common border with Afghanistan, has been used as the main conduit for smuggling Afghan drugs to narcotics kingpins in Europe.

Despite high economic and human costs, the Islamic Republic has been actively fighting drug-trafficking over the past decades.

The country has spent more than $700 million on sealing its borders and preventing the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.

The war on drug trade originating from Afghanistan has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers over the past four decades.

MH/PA