The interior minister criticized the UN for its failure to support Iran in the anti-drug fight.
"In the campaign against illicit drugs, whenever we have needed (and requested) backing of the United Nations, nothing has happened," Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said, adding, "If the current situation continues, we will not be left with any motivation to stick to the unilateral cooperation."
He made the remarks in his meeting with Lochan Naidoo, president of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), on the sidelines of the 58th annual session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna on Wednesday, IRNA reported.
Pointing to Iran's common border with Afghanistan, which is the largest producer of traditional narcotics such as opium and heroin, Rahmani Fazli said, "(This) has imposed heavy financial and human costs on Iran."
Highlighting the successful efforts made by Iranian "specialized and experienced forces" at customs offices to discover and seize drug cargos, he said, "25 percent of the world's total drugs seizures are made by Iran alone," adding, "You cannot imagine what damage this amount of narcotics could have inflicted on the world."
Rahmani called for increased contribution of the relevant international organizations to help fight drug trafficking and the consequent money-laundering crimes.
Naidoo, for his part, praised Iran's initiatives in the campaign against narcotics, saying, "INCB is seeking closer cooperation with such successful partners as Iran."
