U.N. GIVES IRAN $13M FOR DRUG FIGHT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran will receive $13 million from the
United Nations to help fight drugs, the head of the U.N. Drug Control
Program said, according to a report Sunday.

Pino Arlacchi told reporters in Tehran on Saturday that $7 million would be
spent on border vigilance and the rest would go to research, rehabilitation
of addicts and raising drug awareness in local communities, the official
Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday.

Arlacchi watched authorities set ablaze 50 tons of drugs seized from
smugglers to mark the opening of a U.N. anti-drug office in Tehran on
Saturday, said the IRNA report, which was monitored in Dubai.

Arlacchi praised Iran's "relentless efforts in their campaign against drug
trafficking and addiction."

Noting that about 3,000 Iranians have been killed in gun-battles with drug
smugglers, Arlacchi said, "I would like to thank the families of the
martyrs, their wives and children."

Iran has made great strides in the fight against drugs since ending
the1980- 88 war with Iraq. At the time, drugs and drug addiction were rife
across the nation.

In response, authorities burned poppy fields, introduced capital punishment
for drug trafficking and increased patrols on its borders with Pakistan and
Afghanistan, which it says are the main origin of drugs flowing into Iran.