A joint meeting between the anti-narcotics police chiefs of the two countries was held at the police headquarters of Karbala province with the Iraqi Interior Minister, Abdul Amir Al-Shammari, the Iraqi anti-narcotics police chief, Ahmed Al-Zarkani, and the Iranian anti-narcotics police chief, Iraj Kakavand, in attendance.

The two sides stressed the exchange of information on monitoring drug transit between the two countries and discussed possible ways to deal with drug trafficking and smuggling.

The Iranian official explained Iran’s anti-narcotics police measures and activities in the fight against drugs, saying: “The Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of combating drug trafficking and transit which is mostly imported from eastern countries.

The proof of this claim is about 4 thousand martyrs and more than 12 thousand veterans in this battle.”

Referring to the capabilities of Iran’s anti-narcotics police, he announced Iran’ full readiness for cooperation with Iraq in this field.

Ahmed Al-Zarkani, head of Iraq’s anti-narcotics police, emphasizing the need to reinforce cooperation with Iran’s anti-narcotics police, announced Iraq’s readiness to hold specialized training courses by Iran’s anti-narcotics police for the police officers in Iraq.

Iran at the forefront 

In June, Alexander Fedulov, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Iran Country Representative, said Iran should provide other countries of the world with its experiences in dealing with narcotics.

“The successful experiences of Iran’s anti-narcotics police in the field of combating drug transit should be made available to all countries in the region and the world in different ways,” he added.

The international community, while becoming more familiar with the countermeasures of the Islamic Republic of Iran, should provide more support for the fight against narcotics in this country, the UNODC official stressed.

Fedulov referred to the strengthening of the Joint Planning Cell (JPC) and conducting joint activities with other countries in the fight against drug trafficking as effective countermeasures and emphasized the need to boost cooperation.

Kakavand, for his part, said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been decisive and serious in the field of dealing with narcotics at the regional and global levels.

“Since the country is at the forefront of the fight against narcotics, the level of support from UNODC and the international community should be proportionate to the activities and actions at the regional and global level.”

The UNODC Office attaches special importance to the regional and global role of the Islamic Republic in the fight against narcotics, and the discovery of narcotics by the law-enforcement forces of Iran shows the country’s efforts with the United Nations beyond the regional level, Fedulov explained.

“UNODC’s current counter-narcotics program includes “Border Management and Trafficking”, “Drug Prevention, Treatment, Rehabilitation, and HIV Care” and “Alternative Development and Sustainable Livelihoods”, ISNA reported.

MT/MG

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On his trip to Baghdad, Ali-Mohammad Tahmasbi, the secretary of the national policymaking headquarters for dealing with sand and dust storms, met with Mithaq Abdul-Hussein Obaid, the technical undersecretary of Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture, agreed on jointly implementing the plans in the four Iraqi provinces of Dhi Qar, Al-Muthanna, Wasit, and Maysan, as well as the two Iranian provinces of Ilam and Khuzestan within the next two months.

The two sides also discussed different possible ways to deal with desertification, reduce the impacts of climate change, remove barriers to food security, and manage sand and dust storms, IRIB reported.

Tahmasbi emphasized the need to boost cooperation in this regard, announcing Iran’s readiness to study cases of desertification in border areas.

Obaid, for his part, said that solving the problem of sand and dust storms in the region requires the cooperation of West Asian countries, including Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran.

On Tuesday, August 1, a delegation led by the secretary of the national policymaking headquarters for dealing with sand and dust storms started a four-day visit to Iraq to follow up on previous agreements in this regard.

The visit aimed to implement the sub-regional action plan to deal with sand and dust storms, form a regional technical working group, and carry out joint projects to curb hotspots of sand and dust storm, IRNA reported.

Tahmasbi said bilateral and multilateral memorandums of understanding have been signed with Iraq, but unfortunately have not yet been implemented.

The SDS phenomenon has been plaguing the country for several years and has caused problems in many provinces.

According to studies, eight large sand and dust storm hotspots stretching to 270 million hectares in neighboring and Persian Gulf countries are affecting Iran.

Regional maps show that Saudi Arabia produces the highest level of particulate matter, followed by Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, and the UAE, respectively.

The Department of Environment will hold five international meetings in the current Iranian calendar year that started on March 21, DOE chief Ali Salajeqeh has said.

“At least five international meetings will be held this year, one of which is the conference on combating sand and dust storms,” he added, IRNA reported.

One of the approvals of the regional meeting of environment ministers, which was held in Iran last summer, was the establishment of a regional dust organization, he highlighted.

“Environmental diplomacy is the main priority for the country’s political diplomacy, so holding the conference on combating sand and dust storms is important for us.”

So far, 11 meetings of the national headquarters for policymaking and controlling dust storms have been held and the results of these meetings should be evaluated and made public, he stressed.

In the field of diplomacy, the Department of Environment has held meetings with neighboring countries to the extent that Egypt has also announced its readiness to attend the Tehran meeting, he highlighted.

He pointed out that a delegation from Iran will travel to Iraq in the near future to discuss the issue of sand and dust storms in order to make decisions to deal with the problem.

In July 2022, Tehran played host to a conference of ministers and officials from 11 countries, aiming to boost cooperation for resolving extant environmental problems, especially sand and dust storms.

Environment ministers of Iraq, Armenia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Syria, and Qatar, as well as deputy ministers of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan along with delegations from Turkey and Uzbekistan, participated in the event which was held with the theme of “Environmental Cooperation for a Better Future.”

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Iranian Health Minister Bahram Einollahi and his Iraqi counterpart Saleh Al-Hasnawi inked the MOU on Saturday.

The Iraqi official called for importing Iranian technology and expertise in medicine.

“We started registering Iranian medicine in 2003. Thousands of Iraqi students are studying in Iran in various fields,” he added.

Einollahi, for his part, said that the fifth joint committee for economic cooperation was held two months ago, with the issue of health as one of the main topics of discussion.

“It was decided that the pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies of the two countries should cooperate more with each other.”

Earlier this month, Einollahi said health diplomacy is one of the areas that are able to deepen relations between countries in the region.

There are many common issues for cooperation in the field of health between countries, he said, adding that the government’s strategy is to strengthen foreign policy, especially with neighboring countries, IRNA reported.

Einollahi said in April that many countries in the region are asking Iran for help with issues related to health.

In May, Iran hosted the 26th G5 High-Level Experts Meeting on Health Cooperation and the 1st Healthcare Leadership and Governance Training Program.

G5 countries (Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, plus the World Health Organization) have taken part in the meeting with the theme of “Joint Work for Solving Joint Health Problems.”

Addressing the opening ceremony, Einollahi referred to the unity and cooperation of the countries in the fields of health, treatment, and medical education as a historical necessity.

Achieving, maintaining, and promoting health is never possible in a regional way and does not happen in an isolated region, but requires the cooperation of countries, especially neighboring countries, he stressed.

“To develop health in the countries of the group of five, we must look at health collectively and think about creating and promoting health in all countries.

Iran initiated the establishment of the G5 in 2005 to promote subregional cooperation in health to provide technical support in improving this collaboration.

In June 2021, Ahmed al-Mandhari, the World Health Organization director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, said the Islamic Republic of Iran is a role model for primary health care.

For the past four decades, its PHC network has aimed to ensure that people have timely access to affordable, accessible, and acceptable essential health services, he explained.

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The head of the Iranian Department of Environment Ali Salajegheh, who also acts as the vice president, has traveled to Iraq to consult with Iraqi officials about controlling dust storms, which have caused serious problems for the country especially this year.

According to the Iraq News Agency(INA), the two officials held a joint press conference after holding a meeting.

In the press conference, the Iraqi foreign minister said, “We talked to Iran about climate change, drought and desertification. Iraqi and Iranian delegations in Baghdad consulted on addressing the challenges of the climate phenomenon. We also discussed the water issue and its management between Iraq and Iran. Climate change is not specific to one country and it spills over across borders.”

Hussein added, ” There will meetings and sessions will between the two countries to discuss the issue of shared water and rivers.”

Ali Salajegheh, for his part, said, “We talked to the Iraqi side about various cases. Today’s meeting is a good beginning for cooperation in the case of dust storms. Iraq and Iran have experience in stabilizing sand dunes.”

The Iranian environmental official further said that the Iranian Minister of Energy will travel to Iraq to discuss the issue of dust storms.

Selajegheh arrived in Iraq on Saturday evening at the head of a technical and expert delegation from the Iranian Agriculture Ministry, Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Ministry of Energy as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was welcomed by the Iraqi Minister of Environment.

According to the Public Relations office of the Iranian Department of Environment, the Iranian delegation trip aims to exchange views and reach a consensus with the Iraqi authorities on collective cooperation in the region to tackle the sand storms, paying visits to dust storms’ origins and review effective and immediate solutions to reduce the effects of the environmental issue.

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Karim made the remarks following his recent visit to Iran during which he met with Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji.

According to the official, in his visit to Tehran, Iran has agreed to increase its gas exports to Iraq during summer in return for the Arab country’s repaying of its gas dues to Iran.

Karim arrived in Tehran on top of a delegation on Wednesday and was received by Oji upon arrival.

During the mentioned meeting, the two sides had stressed the need for the expansion of mutual ties.

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Speaking on a TV program, Ali Bagheri Kani said during Judiciary Chief Hojjatoleslam Seyed Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Iraq, the case of the U.S. assassination of Lt. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was pursued.

From the beginning, there were interactions between Iran and Iraq to exchange information and documents about the crime, Bagheri said and added that orders were issued in Iran and Iraq to arrest Trump and 46 other defendants.

Bagheri referred to the activation of committees investigating the dimensions of the crime between the two sides, in which the deputy prosecutors of Iran and Iraq are responsible.

He also pointed to creating the infrastructure for a common understanding of the concept of insecurity and noted that if Iran and Iraq cooperated to provide endogenous security, the aliens could no longer exploit the situation for their interest.

“The agreement between the two governments will strengthen the resistance in the region, and in the next steps we want the countries of the region to join this agreement so that there is no more room for Americans and foreigners in the region,” he said.

He went on to say that Hojjatoleslam Raisi’s visit to Iraq thwarted plots and investment of enemies for creating rift between Iranian and Iraqi nations.

Bagheri further said that there is no certain definition for terrorism in the world and if the definition of terrorism which has been set by Ira and Iraq to be extended to other countries in the region, then the security of the region will be protected by the countries of the region and there will be no room for the aliens’ presence in the region.

He noted that during this visit, some MoUs were signed which can ease the trade between the two countries over the legal disputes.

Bagheri noted that both countries agreed to cooperate on international issues.

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