"Iran expects the EU and the world to do more than just thank Iran," said Brig Gen Ismail Ahmadi Moghaddam, head of the drug control headquarters, as he announced plans last month to seal Iran's border with Afghanistan.
According to Brig Gen Moghaddam, Iran seized 900 tonnes of narcotics in 2007, including what the United Nations estimated to be 80 per cent of the total opium seized worldwide, but the battle has cost the lives of more than 3,500 Iranian security officers.
And much of the contraband is still making its way to the country's towns and cities, fuelling a major drug addiction problem.
The Iranian government estimates that between 800,000 and 1.7m of its citizens are addicted to opiates, though the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) puts the number nearer to four million. One government official told local press this year it could be as high as 10m.
In recent years, however, the government has adopted a progressive approach to tackling addiction (winning admiration from western countries and rare praise from the United Nations), and drug addicts these days can turn to one of the many hundreds of state-run and non-governmental drug treatment and prevention centres.
Sitting in a conference room in the Aftab addiction treatment clinic in downtown Tehran, Mehdi, 26, snapped a rubber band fastened around his wrist and winced in pain. "I do this every time I feel the need for drugs," he said. "It takes my mind off them."
Mehdi, who asked to use only his first name, is addicted to heroin, the result of a drug habit that started three years ago after his father died. He began smoking hashish and opium to escape from the grief and the pressures of having to support his family but it was not long before he moved on to more potent and addictive substances.
At Aftab he receives doses of methadone to neutralise his cravings as well as an intensive treatment programme, which he said has changed his life: "One hundred per cent."
At such centres as Aftab, drug addicts can receive access to support groups and full treatment, which can include hospitalisation. Mehdi was hospitalised for four months after a relapse when his plans to get married went awry.
Parviz Maleki, director general of Aftab and a senior governmental adviser on drug addiction, said the government's open approach to tackling drug addiction could not have come soon enough.
"The old way of considering drug abuse as a crime was not working," he said. "Drug users could never seek help so they could never be rehabilitated. The problem was just getting worse."
About 100,000 addicts are now receiving methadone, according to the ministry of health.
In Iran, however, classifying drug addiction is not so straightforward. It and surrounding countries - such as Pakistan and Afghanistan - share histories of opium use and in many parts of these countries smoking it is a cultural norm.
Historically, opium in Iran has been used as a painkiller and for other medicinal purposes. In 1943, a government-sponsored study estimated that 1.4m Iranians out of a population of 14m were "addicted" to opium.
These days, 93 per cent of the world's opium is produced in neighbouring Afghanistan, 60 per cent of which passes through Iran to US markets, among others, according to the UNODC.
Heroin and crack - a crystal base heroin different from crack cocaine - are easy to find and cheap in Iran compared to Europe or the United States. In Tehran, a gram of crack sells for about 50,000 Iranian Rials (Dh18).
Joseph, 28, a friend of Mehdi's who has been using crack for the past five years, said he was easily able to pay for his habit while working as an upholsterer.
He has been off the drug for three months thanks to the treatment he receives at Aftab and support from his family, though addiction cost him his marriage.
"I tried many different things to get off heroin and crack - I went away to a camp, I tried URD [Ultra-Rapid Detox, where the patient is given drugs that block opiate receptors in the brain]. I locked myself up at home."
But only methadone gave Joseph the helping hand he needed to stay off crack and heroin. "It makes me feel normal," he said.
Each year, the government spends hundreds of millions of dollars erecting barriers along the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan and pumping resources into checkpoints. Officials said the battle against drug addiction and trafficking costs Iran US$1 billion (Dh3.67bn) a year.
Bijan Nassirimanesh, the president of the non-governmental Persepolis, which has three clinics in Tehran, said dealing with the root causes of addiction, ie, poverty and unemployment, were as important as the fight against drug trafficking.
"Most people use drugs for socio-economic reasons," he said. "Quite simply, if you have more money and better opportunities you are less likely to become addicted to drugs."
But Dr Nassirimanesh doubted that drug addiction could be eradicated completely.
"We need to be realistic about containing this problem rather than ending it."
jspollen@thenational.ae
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
SPECS%3A%20Polestar%203
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The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Command%20Z
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
Company%20Profile
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Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
The struggle is on for active managers
David Einhorn closed out 2018 with his biggest annual loss ever for the 22-year-old Greenlight Capital.
The firm’s main hedge fund fell 9 per cent in December, extending this year’s decline to 34 percent, according to an investor update viewed by Bloomberg.
Greenlight posted some of the industry’s best returns in its early years, but has stumbled since losing more than 20 per cent in 2015.
Other value-investing managers have also struggled, as a decade of historically low interest rates and the rise of passive investing and quant trading pushed growth stocks past their inexpensive brethren. Three Bays Capital and SPO Partners & Co., which sought to make wagers on undervalued stocks, closed in 2018. Mr Einhorn has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the poor performance this year, while remaining steadfast in his commitment to value investing.
Greenlight, which posted gains only in May and October, underperformed both the broader market and its peers in 2018. The S&P 500 Index dropped 4.4 per cent, including dividends, while the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index, an early indicator of industry performance, fell 7 per cent through December. 28.
At the start of the year, Greenlight managed $6.3 billion in assets, according to a regulatory filing. By May, the firm was down to $5.5bn.
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Book%20Details
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
More coverage from the Future Forum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets