Iran on Sunday vehemently criticized western countries for their "indifference" towards Tehran's efforts in combatting drug trafficking, state radio reported.
"Western countries support us politically. But in reality, their material aid does not (really) represent anything and it does not allow us to combat this plague efficiently," said Mohammed Fallah, Iran's number one anti-drugs official.
He said drug trafficking and consumption in Iran had reached "alarming proportions," adding that "we must know that we cannot face this plague with simple repressive measures."
Iran is a major transshipment point for drugs from Afghanistan and Pakistan destined for markets in Europe and the Gulf, and has called on the international community, primarily the West, to help deal with it.
In recent days, Tehran's press has been calling attention to the difficulties officials are faced with in their war against drugs, pointing to the increased security problems in the country's eastern provinces on the border with Afghanistan.
Tensions between the population and officials are also on the rise. In the latest incident, several armed drug traffickers killed a father and his son before the eyes of passers-by in Kasrineh, near Kashmar, in the eastern Khorassan province.
The incident sparked days of violent protests during which public buildings were attacked and damaged by angry demonstrators, tired with the mounting insecurity.
Armed drug traffickers kidnapped six people last week in Khorassan, and a total of 11 Afghan drug traffickers were killed by security forces during several days of violent clashes last week in the same province.
In May, Iran's parliament voted to seal off the country's 940 kilometer (600-mile) border with Afghanistan in the bid to staunch the flow of narcotics into the country.
Last year 174 police officers and 740 smugglers were killed in drug-related clashes, according to official statistics – TEHRAN (AFP)
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