During a visit to the Mirjaveh region, Eskandar Momeni, the Iranian Interior Minister, said that closing the border has a significant impact on the security of the region, preventing drug trafficking and organising foreign nationals.

Momeni said that sustainable security is the prelude to any kind of progress and development.

On Saturday, November 2, Mehr News Agency reported that Momeni, during a visit to the border closure project in the Mirjaveh region, said, "With the implementation of the border closure plan, in addition to preventing the smuggling of drugs and goods, the return and movement of nationals will also be controlled, and this will have an important impact on the security of Sistan and Baluchestan."

The Iranian Interior Minister noted that according to the information, the first phase of the border blockade project, which is intended to be about 90 kilometres, began in late June and is expected to be completed and put into operation in the first half of the next year.

Momeni added that the closure of the border is not only physical, and a smart part of it includes radars. He added that a combination of the wall and smart systems could complement the closure plan and greatly increase its efficiency.

Earlier, Sirous Amanollahi, commander of the Iranian army's ground forces in the northeast of the country, had announced that the plan to close the border with Afghanistan would take three years. The project has made good progress in various sectors and the necessary resources have been provided to speed up its process, Amanollahi said.

It is said that the border wall will be built in the northeast of Iran on the border with Afghanistan with a length of about 300 kilometres, and its implementation will be the responsibility of four engineering groups and the ground forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to official information, Iran has allocated three billion euros for the implementation of this plan.

The Islamic Republic authorities have announced that this measure is being taken to prevent the illegal entry of immigrants, the movement of terrorists and drug traffickers.