TEHRAN — Eskandar Momeni, chief of Iran’s drug war commander, says the Islamic Republic of Iran has been fighting against illicit drugs on behalf of the world.

Iran has seized over 12,000 tons of drugs within the past four decades, Iran Press quoted Momeni as saying on Monday.

He said 3,800 anti-drug forces have been martyred when fighting drug-trafficking.

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. 

MH/PA