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The Islamic Republic of Iran fights hard against drug smugglers and prevents them from entering the region, the commander of the Iranian border guards has said.

“We are pleased to hold the second joint border meeting of Iran and Pakistan since it affects the two countries’ relations, ” IRNA quoted Brigadier General Ahmad-Ali Goudarzi as saying.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Rear Admiral Imtiaz Ali, the director general of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA).

The Iranian official said former joint meetings have had a significant impact on border security relations. “These meetings should continue to be held with the focus on improving maritime security and fighting drug trafficking, as the main objectives.”

The two countries share about 740 km and 204 km of land and sea borders, respectively. The stable security of the borders shows the good neighborly relations between Iran and Pakistan, Goudarzi noted.

Highlighting that the security of the Persian Gulf and the Oman Sea are of great importance to the regional countries, Goudarzi said over four thousand people have been martyred and some 12 thousand wounded in the fight against drug smuggling.

He went on to say that so far Iran has discovered more than 500 tons of narcotics in the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21). Over 15 tons of narcotic drugs have been discovered in the Sea of Oman.

To prevent drug trafficking, and illegal fishing, and ensure the safety of fishermen in the sea, the control of the sea borders should be enhanced by the two countries; joint patrols and maneuvers should be held, too, Goudarzi said.

Imtiaz Ali, for his part, said, “Fortunately, the sea borders of the two countries are calm and this is the result of coordination and understanding between the two countries.

Emphasizing the need to increase cooperation toward the management of sea borders, he said the Persian Gulf is of vital importance to the world that needs security. “So, we must secure stability in the region so that people can have a better life.”

Drug trafficking constitutes an important problem for Pakistan. “Our country is strongly against it and strictly deals with those engaged in drug smuggling,” he added.

Triangular Initiative 

On June 14, senior officials from Iran and Pakistan started a two-day meeting in Tehran to deepen counter-narcotics cooperation under the framework of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)-brokered Triangular Initiative.

The meeting was part of the series of gatherings foreseen by the Triangular Initiative and aimed at discussing existing drug trafficking threats, regional counter-narcotic strategies, and operational means to improve trilateral cooperation, according to the UNODC website.

The Triangular Initiative was launched in 2007 to strengthen cooperation in counter-narcotics law enforcement between the Islamic Republics of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

UNODC serves as its Secretariat; it facilitates the implementation of technical assistance and mobilizes financial support.

The initiative has so far helped to forge an unprecedented level of cooperation on drug control between the three countries.

Periodic meetings of experts and policy-makers have been facilitated by UNODC since 2007, building trust amongst the three countries’ anti-narcotics authorities.

At the operational level, a Joint Planning Cell has been established in Tehran for information and intelligence sharing and the implementation of joint operations targeting drug trafficking networks operating in the region.

The front line

Iran is known as the first station and the front line of dealing with all kinds of drugs due to its location on the European transit route of Afghan drugs.

The fight against narcotics is very expensive due to the complexity of the mafia level of this business, a cost that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been paying alone for years despite the support claims of the international community.

On average, more than 90 percent of opium discoveries, 27 percent of heroin discoveries, and 59 percent of morphine discoveries in the world are made by Iran, Mohsen Naziri Asl, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Vienna, has said.

some 716 tons of narcotics were discovered and seized in the past Iranian calendar year (March 2022-March 2023), he added.

The flow of narcotics into Iran has decreased by about 15 percent over the past four years, Eskandar Momeni, the secretary general of the anti-narcotics headquarters, has said.

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Speaking to ILNA, Ruhollah Lotfi said according to the approval of the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control and in order to contain the Omicron in the country, the land borders with neighboring countries will be close for two weeks.

He added that currently the restriction for travel of passengers through land borders with Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Armenia is definite and this restriction is for passengers and only passengers with having certain documents can travel via land borders.

Lotfi went on to say that but the trade through the land borders will continue and the restriction is only for passengers.

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The comments by Hossein Salami came as the Taliban militants are capturing more territories in neighboring Afghanistan.

“The armed forces are present at the country’s eastern borders with full readiness and vigilance,” Major General Salami told reporters during a visit to the northeastern city of Mashhad.

Salami reiterated that all of the official and unofficial border crossings in the east of the country are under full control of the Iranian armed forces.

“People should not worry at all, because the scope of our observations has gone beyond the borders and we are monitoring and controlling all the developments in the neighboring country,” he said.

In recent weeks, the Taliban militants have waged a massive rampage across the war-torn Afghanistan, seizing control of multiple strategic cities toward the capital, Kabul.

IRGC and Basij do whatever possible to combat Coronavirus

During his visit to Mashhad, Salami also visited the vaccination center in the shrine city, and reiterated the IRGC’s determination in helping the government implement the public vaccination program.

“What I observed was that there is a serious determination in the responsible officials of the province, such as the governor and the medical officials, as well as the Guards,” he highlighted.

The commander also said that a serious will has been formed after the order of the Leader to contain the Coronavirus.

“We hope to overcome this issue with collective will and great efforts. We also decide to meet the hardware needs such as oxygen generators and we expand the scope of activities according to the needs,” General Salami stated.

He emphasized that the most important priority of the IRGC is to organize teams that can help medical officials all over the country to intensify the public vaccination plan named after martyr Soleimani, insisting on intensive and nationwide implementation of the plan in all sectors.

The Martyr Soleimani plan is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Basij, and the Red Crescent Society, through which volunteer forces provide information, testing, diagnosis, referral of suspects to health centers, and offer services by visiting people’s homes.

Salami stated that most of the hospitals in different parts of the country, including the hospitals related to the IRGC and the hospitals of the ground forces have announced readiness, and in Mashhad, the Shahid Najafi clinic has been set up and its beds have been expanded.

In the fight against the Coronavirus, the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS), Basij along with the Ministry of Health and other responsible organizations, have undertaken important activities, from rapid diagnosis and screening to providing medical services and shelter, but the most important activity of this population has been informing the public about healthcare and treatment.

He stated IRGC naval hospitals and fixed and mobile forces in Qom, Arak, Sari and other cities have come to work to help the medical sector and remove the burden from the medical community.

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The North recently set up around 20 loudspeakers in border areas after threatening to take military action against what it called “the enemy” in anger over Seoul’s failure to stop defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets across the border.

“Around 10 newly installed loudspeakers near Cheorwon in North Korea were removing from earlier today,” a military source said, Yonhap news agency reported.

The move came after the communist country decided to suspend military action against South Korea during a Central Military Commission meeting presided over by leader Kim, according to the North’s Korean Central News Agency.

“We are closely monitoring North Korean military moves while maintaining a firm readiness posture,” an official of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, noting that the suspension decision was made during the “preliminary” meeting.

Last week, the North blew up the inter-Korean liaison office in its border town of Kaesong in a dramatic expression of anger at the South. The North then warned of a series of military actions, such as the forward deployment of its troops to Kaesong and the Mount Kumgang tourist area on the east coast and opening border areas for scattering anti-South leaflets.

In 2018, South and North Korea dismantled around 40 loudspeakers each from their border regions, as they agreed to halt all hostile acts against each other and eliminate their means, including broadcasting through loudspeakers and the distribution of leaflets, in accordance with the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration signed by President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim.

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The two sides remain technically at war, since fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953 that was never replaced with a peace treaty.

North Korean gunfire hit a Southern guard post on May 3, prompting Seoul’s soldiers to return fire a few minutes later and broadcast warnings.

The UNC — which monitors compliance with the ceasefire — opened an investigation into the shooting and concluded that “both sides committed Armistice Agreement violations”, it said in a statement, AFP reported.

The probe found the North’s Korean People’s Army fired four 14.5mm small-arms rounds, which were responded to by two volleys from South Korea.

But the investigation was “unable to definitively determine” whether the North’s gunshots were fired “intentionally or by mistake”, the UNC said.

The North’s military did not offer a “formal response” when the UNC invited it to take part in the investigation, it said, adding that the South’s forces provided “full cooperation”.

Seoul’s defense ministry expressed regret over the announcement of the findings and said its troops were following their response manual.

Despite its name, the Demilitarized Zone is one of the most fortified places on earth, replete with minefields and barbed-wire fences.

The last time the two sides exchanged fire on the border was in 2014. North Korean soldiers also shot at a defecting soldier in 2017, but the South did not fire back.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the South’s President Moon Jae-in agreed to ease military tensions on their border at a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018, among other agreements.

But most of the deals have not been acted on, with the Pyongyang largely cutting off contact with Seoul following the collapse of the Hanoi summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump, which left nuclear talks at a standstill.

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