MNA � The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani said Mon. that about 4,000 Iranians have lost their lives in the fight against illicit drugs, while since 2001, when Americans attacked Afghanistan, drug production has increased by 50 times.

The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani made the remarks in a meeting with the visiting Deputy Speaker of Iraqi Parliament Bashir Haddad in Tehran on Monday.

�The US intervention creates problems for the Middle East region,� Larijani said during the meeting.

The top Iranian legislator also said "about 4,000 Iranians have become martyred during the fight against illegal drugs, while since 2001, when Americans attacked Afghanistan, drug production has increased by 50 times in the neighboring country."

Larijani further said that Iran will remain alongside Iraq as it did during the fight against terrorism.

Deputy Speaker Bashir Haddad, for his part, said that long shared borders between Iran and Iraq lay the ground for expansion of ties between the two countries in various fields, stressing the need for an increase in the number of border crossings to expand bilateral economic and trade relations.