MNA � Chief of Staff of Iranian President Mahmoud Vaezi said that fighting drug-trafficking is significant for Iran.

He made the remarks on the sidelines of Seasonal Conference of Secretaries of Iran Drug Control Headquarters in Tehran on Saturday.

The Iranian administration has made efforts against decreasing the budget of the Drug Control Headquarters, Vaezi said, adding that fortunately the drug trafficking has been identified as an essential issue in Iran.

Iran has done very well in the fight against drug smugglers, he mentioned.

Vaezi stressed that Iran cannot solely coordinate with the countries of the region in order to fight against drug-trafficking and needs international assistance.

Located near Afghanistan which is one of the main sources of opium production in the world, Iran is on the frontline of the fight against drug trafficking. Iran has lost many forces during this fight. The country has always asked for international help in such operations, noting that the other countries, especially European states, should take responsibility and play a positive role in this fight or face its threats themselves.

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

According to reports, in 2018 alone, Iranian forces carried out 1,557 operations against drug traffickers, seizing approximately 807 tons of different types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

According to the latest World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Cri