Tasnim� Iranian Anti-Narcotics Police Chief General Mohammad Massoud Zahedian and his Turkish counterpart, Ibrahim Hakki Seydioglullari, agreed to promote cooperation between the two neighboring countries in various security fields, including the campaign against illicit drugs.

Meeting in Ankara, the Iranian and Turkish officials exchanged views about a range of issues, inducing ways to boost relations between Tehran and Ankara with the aim of fighting against narcotics trafficking.

General Zahedian and Seydioglullari also talked about closer intelligence and training cooperation between the two countries to combat the smuggling of illicit drugs.

Different aspects of the growth in production of narcotics and drugs precursors in Afghanistan and ways to fight money laundering was also discussed at the meeting.

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 three 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.