Pubdate: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1998 Associated Press. Author: GEORGE GEDDA Associated Press Writer U.S. REMOVES IRAN FROM DRUG LIST WASHINGTON (AP) President Clinton, concluding that Iran has carried out a successful program to eradicate opium poppy plants, today removed Iran from the official list of drug problem countries. In a letter to members of Congress, Clinton said that while Iran continues to serve as a transit point for opiates heading for Europe, there is no evidence to suggest that significant quantities arrive in the United States. Clinton also deleted Malaysia from the list on grounds that country has not been used significantly as a transit point for U.S.-bound drugs. By deleting Iran and Malaysia, the list of drug problem countries was reduced to 28. Clinton's determination was disclosed in a letter to key members of the House and Senate international relations and Appropriations committees. Each year, the White House is required to report on countries that are either drug-source or drug-transit countries, or both. Those found to be not fully cooperating with U.S. counter-narcotics efforts can be subject to economic penalties. Iran has been on the U.S. list as a major drug producer since 1987. Clinton's letter said Iran over the past few years has "reported success in eradicating illicit opium poppy cultivation." Opium poppy is the raw material from which heroin is derived. A U.S. government review of Iran's claims "found no evidence of any significant poppy cultivation in the traditional growing areas," Clinton wrote. Clinton's finding comes at a time when the administration is reaching out to Iran, attempting to establish a political dialogue for the first time in almost two decades. But officials insisted that politics did not intervene in Clinton's decision. Large drug hauls are common in Iran, which lies on a route used by smugglers to get drugs from Pakistan and Afghanistan to Europe and the oil-rich Persian Gulf. Iran has been cracking down on drug smugglers since 1988. Hundreds of traffickers have been hanged under a law that mandates the death penalty for anyone caught with more than a small quantity of narcotics. Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency said Afghan drug traffickers were killed recently in clashes with police in the northeastern Khorasan province. In a March report, the State Department said Iran's drug interdiction programs are energetic, even if only partially successful at stemming the flow of illicit drugs. Grassley and Gilman said Iran is seizing less than 20 percent of the narcotics that cross its territory. Last week, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., expressed concern over news reports suggesting that Iran was about to be dropped from the list. Grassley and Gilman told Clinton in a letter that any effort to remove Iran from the list is not based on substantive grounds but on the "speculative hope that such a unilateral gesture will win diplomatic points in Iran for some anticipated rapprochement." Grassley is chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control and Gilman is chairman of the House International Relations Committee. They outlined their position in a letter to Clinton dated Wednesday. - --- Checked-by: derek rea