Iranian border guards have seized 49 firearms, including 19 military and 30 hunting weapons, along with 153 kilograms of heroin, methamphetamine, and opium in operations targeting organized smuggling networks.
Brigadier General Ali-Akbar Javidan, commander of Iran’s Border Guard Police, announced the seizures on Sunday, explaining that the operations were aimed at preventing items that could threaten public security from entering the country.
“The valiant border guards stationed along the country’s borders, relying on intelligence dominance, operational control, and smart and optical equipment, succeeded in discovering and confiscating these shipments before they entered the country,” Javidan said.
The operations were carried out through a series of combat and surprise raids over the past week, targeting organized arms and drug-smuggling networks operating along Iran’s borders.
Javidan reported that the raids also resulted in the dismantling of weapons-smuggling networks and the arrest of five smugglers, who were handed over to judicial authorities after legal case files were prepared.
“Some smuggling networks seek to transfer these shipments to create insecurity and carry out acts of sabotage, but border guards, with full vigilance, will not allow these objectives to be achieved,” he added.
Javidan further issued a warning to drug traffickers, arms smugglers, and those seeking to illegally enter Iranian territory, saying, “The border guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with watchful eyes and firm determination, will confront any threat to border security decisively.”
The seizures come amid repeated statements by US and Israeli officials acknowledging efforts to provide weapons and other equipment to militant groups inside Iran.
US President Donald Trump admitted on April 6 that the US had attempted to send weapons to militant groups operating along the Iran-Iraq border.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealed on June 23 that Israel had smuggled communications equipment, including Starlink receivers, into Iran to help anti-government militants maintain communications and coordinate their activities.
