Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli says the ISIL Takfiri terror group operating in neighboring Iraq poses no security threat to the Islamic Republics western borders.In an interview with Russia's RT TV channel airedon Friday, Rahmani-Fazli hailed efforts by Irans Armed Forces and the local population in protecting the countrys frontiers in the face of ISIL terror operations, adding that the Takfiri group doesnt pose any threat to the Iranian territory.
The ISIL terrorists, who control parts of Syria, sent their forces into neighboring Iraq in June and quickly seized large swaths of territory straddling the border between the two countries.
Elsewhere in his comments, the Iranian minister pointed to Irans fight against drug trafficking, particularly on its long border with Afghanistan, adding, We spearhead the war against drugs and criminal groups, spending a lot of financial resources.
Rahmani-Fazli further outlined the security measures adopted by the Islamic Republic to counter drug smuggling near the Afghan border, adding, We are extremely concerned [over] the use of money from selling drugs to sponsor extremism.
All the countries in the region must do their part to prevent extremists from receiving financial support from the illegal drugs trade, the Iranian interior minister stressed.
He also said the production of narcotics in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washingtons so-called war on terror.
If the US-led forces withdraw from Afghanistan, Iran and the Central Asian nations can engage in a serious cooperation with Kabul in its fight against opium cultivation and drug smuggling, according to the senior Iranian official.
Over the past three decades, Iran has spent billions of dollars to seal its borders and prevent the transit of narcotics destined for European, Arab and Central Asian countries.
The war on drug trade, a profitable business originating in Afghanistan, has also claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 Iranian police officers and soldiers.
By Press TV
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