London, May 20, IRNA -- Britain is making a further exception to its
national arms embargo to provide Iran with more night vision equipment
to help border guards combat drug smuggling from Afghanistan.
Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien announced in a written
statement to parliament Monday that the export was being funded by
the UN Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) and that its office in Vienna
has confirmed the application was legitimate.
The government was "satisfied that these goods would only be
used for the end-use stated and there is no risk of these goods
being diverted for use by the Iranian military," he said in reference
to the unilateral arms embargo imposed by the UK.
The night vision goggles are the second to be supplied by the UK
after similar equipment also funded by UNDCP was exported three
years ago.
The British government had also made an exception to its ban on
military equipment that dates back to Iraq's 1980-88 war against
Iran by previously providing 1,020 bullet-proof vests for border
guards.
In 2000, former cabinet secretary Mo Mowlam signed a drugs
cooperation agreement with Iran during a visit to Tehran to attend
an international conference on combating drugs.
Government ministers have frequently praised Iran for being
responsible for 85 percent of the world's opium seizures. It is
estimated that 90 percent of all heroine used by some 300,000
addicts in the UK comes from Afghanistan.
The UK also has the added burden of taking over responsibility
for the UN drugs control program in Afghanistan at a time when opium
cultivation in that country has reportedly increased by a massive
18-fold since the US-led war to overthrow the Taliban regime.