Mohammad Saleh Jokar, member of the Majlis Security Committee, while stressing on the depth of the Iranian regime’s humanitarian endeavor in implementing nonstop execution verdicts in Iran, said about the European Parliament’s demand from Iran to eliminate the death penalty: “The death penalty has been clearly stated in our country’s law and the remarks of other countries in this regard means that they are entering the legal jurisdiction of an independent country. The Islamic republic of Iran, by adopting the death penalty for smugglers, has established a shield against the entrance of drugs into European soil. The European Union hasn’t even thanked us once in this regard. On the contrary, they have criticized us about executions.”

The MP from Yazd threatened Europe on further opening the route of smuggling to Europe, adding, “Executing smugglers is in Europe’s interests. If they were in the front lines of battling smugglers, they wouldn’t talk too much of the measures taken against smugglers. We must reconsider our policy in this regard to force the West to pay the expenses of this fight against smuggles so they wouldn’t issue resolutions out of their comfort against Iran’s seriousness in executing the smugglers.”

It is worth noting that according to international media reports narcotics smuggling in Iran is completely controlled by the IRGC, with billions of dollars in annual revenue. 

For example, the Times published in this regard on 17 November 2011: “Smuggling  narcotics provides billions of dollars each year for Iran’s IRGC, which has currently monopolized both narcotics smuggling in Iran and has established relations with global criminal networks. Former Islamic republic of Iran officials have told the Times that one of the IRGC’s motives for smuggling narcotics is to deliver a blow to Western countries.”

The CIA has been able to identify two senior IRGC commanders that are directly involved in narcotics smuggling. One is an IRGC commander in the greater Tehran area by the name of Abdullah Iraqi that has relations with criminal gangs in Eastern Europe. The other is Mohsen Refighdoost, a former IRGC commander that has maintained his relations with these organizations.

Sajjad Hagh-panah, a former IRGC counterintelligence commander, told the Times daily that narcotics smuggling among IRGC commanders has become a very widespread matter, and a number of IRGC commanders are directly involved in this industry. The IRGC transforms Afghanistan’s opium into heroine and morphine inside Iran, and in cooperation with criminal gangs, smuggles them across the globe.

Former Islamic republic of Iran diplomat Abolfazl Islami told the Times daily that the IRGC has resorted to smuggling narcotics to provide for its financial needs, all with the agreement of senior Iranian regime officials.