Tehran, Dec 14, IRNA -- An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said here Saturday that police in northeastern city of Mashhad had closed Afghan Hizbullah offices because of their illegal operations.

Alireza Moayyeri, Deputy Foreign Minister for Education and Research Affairs, said the measure was taken in line with the Islamic Republic's policy of supporting President Hamid Karzai's government in Afghanistan.

Summing up the reason for the closure, he said, "The operation of Afghan jihadi groups in the Islamic Republic of Iran are based on the permits which the Interior Ministry issues under certain conditions and these offices probably did not have such a permit."

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, according to its policy of helping with stability and security in Afghanistan, considers its central government, led by Hamid Karzai, as the side for negotiations and business.

"Iran's refusal to accept forces opposed to Hamid Karzai's government in Iran and its allocation of 50-million-dollar in outright grant to that country is in line with Iran's genuine support for Afghanistan's legitimate government," Moayyeri added.

Tehran has so far closed several offices of Afghanistan's opposition offices in the northwestern city of Mashhad, including those of Afghan warlord and head of the Hizbi-Islami group, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Moayyeri also criticized Europe for giving only lip service to Iran's relentless campaign against illegal drugs, which originate from Afghanistan.

"Fighting narcotics requires international resolve and Europeans have unfortunately not cooperated much with us on this," he said.

Iran lies on crossroads of the international drug trade and its relentless anti-drug campaign costs the country Dlrs 800 million per year, according to officials.

The country accounts for 80 percent of the opium and 90 percent of the morphine catches in the world, the International Narcotics Control Board has said.

Press have cited a police official as saying that more than 3,000 of Iranian military personnel and policemen have lost their lives in anti-drug fight since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.