IRAN NO LONGER A DRUG-PROBLEM COUNTRY

President Clinton today removed Iran from the
official list of drug problem countries, concluding the Islamic
republic has carried out a successful program to eradicate opium poppies.

In a letter to members of Congress, Clinton said that while Iran
continues to serve as a transit point for opiates heading for Europe,
there is no evidence to suggest that significant quantities arrive in
the United States.

Clinton also deleted Malaysia from the list on grounds that country
has not been used significantly as a transit point for U.S.-bound
drugs. By deleting Iran and Malaysia, the list of drug problem
countries was reduced to 28.

Clinton's determination was disclosed in a letter to key members of
the House and Senate international relations and Appropriations committees.

Each year, the White House is required to report on countries that are
either drug-source or drug-transit countries, or both. Those found to
be not fully cooperating with U.S. counter-narcotics efforts can be
subject to economic penalties.

Iran has been on the U.S. list as a major drug producer since 1987.
Clinton's letter said Iran over the past few years has ``reported
success in eradicating illicit opium poppy cultivation.'' Opium poppy
is the raw material from which heroin is derived.

A U.S. government review of Iran's claims ``found no evidence of any
significant poppy cultivation in the traditional growing areas,''
Clinton wrote.

Clinton's finding comes at a time when the administration is reaching
out to Iran, attempting to establish a political dialogue for the
first time in almost two decades. But officials insisted that politics
did not intervene in Clinton's decision.

Large drug hauls are common in Iran, which lies on a route used by
smugglers to get drugs from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe and the
oil-rich Persian Gulf.

Iran has been cracking down on drug smugglers since 1988. Hundreds of
traffickers have been hanged under a law that mandates the death
penalty for anyone caught with more than a small quantity of narcotics.

Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency said Afghan drug
traffickers were killed recently in clashes with police in the
northeastern Khorasan province.

In a March report, the State Department said Iran's drug interdiction
programs are energetic, even if only partially successful at stemming
the flow of illicit drugs. Grassley and Gilman said Iran is seizing
less than 20 percent of the narcotics that cross its territory.

Last week, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Benjamin Gilman,
R-N.Y., expressed concern over news reports suggesting that Iran was
about to be dropped from the list.

Grassley and Gilman told Clinton in a letter that any effort to remove
Iran from the list is not based on substantive grounds but on the
``speculative hope that such a unilateral gesture will win diplomatic
points in Iran for some anticipated rapprochement.''

Grassley is chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics
Control and Gilman is chairman of the House International Relations
Committee. They outlined their position in a letter to Clinton dated
Wednesday.

Checked-by: derek rea