BRITAIN HELPS IRAN FIGHT DRUG-RUNNERS

Britain is lifting its 20-year export ban on military and security
equipment to supply Iran with bullet-proof vests to help border guards
fight Afghanistan drug-smugglers.

Tony Lloyd, the Foreign Office minister, announced yesterday that the
Government was sending Tehran UKP300,000 worth of equipment as a
contribution to a $13 million (UKP8 million) UN drug control package.

It is the first example of close practical co-operation since last
September, when Iran ended the long impasse in relations with Britain
by formally withdrawing support for the death fatwa against the
author, Salman Rushdie. The two countries are now expected to exchange
ambassadors - a milestone made possible by President Mohammed
Khatami's reformist regime, although disagreements remain about
nuclear issues and the Middle East peace process.

Iran is on the main route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan and
Pakistan, the source of 95 per cent of the opiates reaching Britain.
Border guards have suffered heavy casualties in clashes with convoys
of smugglers armed with machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

Britain has urged Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia to crack down
on heroin production, but UN efforts are focusing on helping improve
law enforcement and co-operation with Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey.