1m liters of fuel trafficked daily out of Iran: Iran`s police chief

PERSIAN GULF WATERS, Bandar Abbas, May 3 (MNA) – About one million liters of fuel is trafficked out of Iran every day despite increased domestic fuel prices caused by the subsidy reform plan, National Police Chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam said on Wednesday. The police chief who was speaking on the sidelines of a coast guard maneuver in the Persian Gulf waters off the coast of the port city of Bandar Abbas said that before the implementation of the subsidy reform plan, 20 million liters of fuel were trafficked out of the country. Ahmadi-Moqaddam also said that illegal drugs pose great threats to the country, and since 2001 when invaders occupied Afghanistan, trafficking of illegal drugs has increased by 40 percent. He said that the supply routes for drugs from Afghanistan have shifted towards maritime trade since Iran has secured its eastern border. In reference to the recent reports that the U.S. has stationed high-tech Raptor jets at bases in the United Arab Emirates, Ahmadi-Moqaddam also said that the West aimed to destroy Iran’s relationship with its southern neighbors, thereby undermining regional security. “We advise our Arab (neighboring) countries not to be provoked and to adhere to (the principle of) good neighborliness. A stable and powerful Iran is not a threat to them, but rather (it provides) opportunities for them,” he said.