Iran will revise its policies on the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism outside its borders, if US economic sanctions remain in place, a senior lawmaker said, warning the West about the fallout from such a change of stance.
“If sanctions continue, we will make new decisions on countering terrorist groups and drug smuggling to other countries,” Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told ISNA in remarks published on Sunday.
His comments came after President Hassan Rouhani told senior parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Pakistan and three other countries that western nations will not be safe from a “deluge” of drugs, asylum seekers and attacks if US sanctions weaken Iran’s ability to contain them.
US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of a multilateral nuclear deal with Tehran in May and has since reimposed sanctions on the OPEC producer’s vital oil industry.
Heavy Price
Naqavi-Hosseini said international organizations acknowledge that Iran, which is strategically located between Afghanistan and Europe, has “paid a heavy price” in the campaign against drugs and terrorism.
“Afghanistan and Pakistan are important and primary sources of drug trafficking through Iran and Iran has suffered great losses while impeding the flow of drugs to western countries,” he added.
Drug trafficking is a serious challenge for Iran as it borders Afghanistan—the world’s largest opium producer—and Pakistan, a major transit country for drugs.
A number of Iranian border guards are killed every year while fighting drug smugglers.
Rouhani said in his speech that Iran spends $800 million a year to fight drugs.
In 2012, Iran accounted for two-thirds of the world’s opium seizures and one-fourth of the world’s heroin and morphine confiscations, a UN report published in 2014 showed.
In 2018, Iran’s anti-narcotics police forces seized more than 330 tons of illicit drugs across the country, according to Iranian state media.
Anti-Terror Role
Naqavi-Hosseini also highlighted Tehran’s significant role in addressing the plague of terrorism, saying, “Iran expects other countries, particularly western nations, and international organizations and groups to support, encourage and cooperate with it, instead of tying its hands with sanctions.”
Iran, a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the country’s civil war, has sent military advisers to help fight terrorist groups. In Iraq, Iranian-backed groups helped the Baghdad government defeat the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group.
“When we are capable of combating terrorism inside the country and are one of the safest countries in the Middle East and can also tackle social ills and other domestic issues, why should we pay the price for fighting terrorists who want to go to western countries while being confronted with sanctions and threats?” asked the lawmaker.
“We will take a different decision, if this trend continues.”
In addition to its anti-terrorism and anti-drugs efforts, Iran has for years played a crucial role in hosting Afghan refugees.
More than 700,000 undocumented Afghans have returned from Iran this year as the Iranian economy tightens, according to data from the UN migration agency, and Iranian media said some Afghans were seeking to enter Turkey to reach Europe.
