With Iran facing serious problems of drug addiction and narcotics trafficking, the head of the U.N.'s counter-narcotics agency is having talks with top officials in Tehran.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime chief Yury Fedotov is on a three-day trip that includes visits to border regions near Afghanistan and Pakistan and a drug rehabilitation center.

Iranian state-run media reports say President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for global cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking during talks with Fedotov on Wednesday.

UNODC says Iran has the world's highest rate of opium and heroin seizures.

The agency also says Iran faces “one of the world's most serious addiction problems” but is providing effective drug treatment and HIV control services, partly as a result of support from non-governmental agencies.

Mr. Ahmadinejad blamed the West for his region's drug problems during a speech to recovered addicts in June.

Western human rights groups say Iran has executed hundreds convicted of drug crimes in the last year.