US playing games, not fighting terrorism: Larijani

Almaty. December 27. Silkroadnews - The United States playing games, not fighting terrorism, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says, the Iranian Telegraph Agency (IrTAG) reports.
“Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says the United States is not sincere in its campaign against terrorism, adding that Washington is only “playing games””, the report said.
Larijani stressed, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns terrorism in all its forms and states that the U.S. had created terrorist groups, including the IS, to destroy the resources of Muslim countries and safeguard the interests of the Israeli regime.
“Iran opposes any act of terrorism in all its forms and shapes whether in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq and regards it as tyranny against Muslims,” he said and reminded, in 2001 the U.S. attacked Afghanistan in 2001 under the pretext of combating terrorism and drug production, but as a result, drug production in the war-torn country has grown more than 45%.
According to him, there are about 400 laboratories in Afghanistan that produce heroin, while NATO doing nothing.
A recent survey conducted by the United Nations and the Afghan government showed that in 2017 opium production in countries with an unstable situation nearly doubled in comparison with the previous year.
According to a survey issued in November by the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium production has increased by 87% to a record level of 9,000 metric tonnes (9,921 US tonnes) this year, compared to 4,800 metric tonnes (5,291 US tonnes) in 2016.
Afghanistan is the world’s cultivator of poppy, from which opium is produced. The Taliban militants are actively involved in cultivation of poppy and distribution of opium, especially in areas under their control.
More than 16 years after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, security in this country remains fragile.
“The US-led forces transferred security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2014, although some 13,000 NATO soldiers, most of them from the US, are still stationed in Afghanistan. US President Donald Trump has allowed the deployment of another 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan and has repeatedly urged other NATO members to contribute more,” the publication reads.