Land routes across Iran form the main export channel for opiates originating in Afghanistan, the world’s largest producer. This has led Iran to launch a full-scale drugs war in the wild regions of Khorassan and Baluchistan, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. Traffickers blast their way past border fortifications with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, or use “mules” – men and women who slip across the border with up to 20kg of heroin each. Most of the drugs travel from Iran into Turkey; others go overland to Central Asia and the Caucasus, or by sea through the Persian Gulf.
