Rise In Industrial Drug Production In Afghanistan Threat To World Security, Says Iran

Eskandar Momeni, the Iranian Interior Minister, said that the production of traditional drugs in Afghanistan has decreased, but the production of industrial drugs such as methamphetamine has increased.

Momeni called the rise in the production of industrial drugs in Afghanistan dangerous for the security of the region and the world.

Iran's interior minister made the remarks on Wednesday, November 6, on the sidelines of an Iranian cabinet meeting.

Momeni had previously called the Islamic Republic one of the victims of Afghanistan's increased drug production.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) had also announced on Wednesday that poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has increased by 19% in 2024 as compared to the previous year.

The United Nations cited the Taliban's failure to combat poppy cultivation this year, adding that the area of poppy cultivation has increased from 10,800 hectares last year to 12,800 hectares this year.

The Taliban, however, rejected the UN report, calling it "baseless and far from the truth”.

In response to the latest UN report, a spokesman for the Taliban's Interior Ministry said that the assessment may have been made before police campaigns to eradicate poppy cultivation earlier this year.

Since then, all poppy fields have been wiped out by Taliban forces and drug cultivation has "significantly reduced", he claimed.