Drink-driving tests coming to Iran, where alcohol is banned

Iran's traffic police will soon start testing motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol, which has been banned since the 1979 Islamic revolution, the ISNA news agency reported. "In a month's time, we will station cars across the country to test suspect drivers for alcohol, drugs and psychedelic substances," Iran's chief traffic policeman, Eskandar Momeni, was quoted as saying. Momeni said drivers who tested positive could face stiff penalties in the Islamic republic's justice system. "Aside from a fine of two million rials ($165), we will confiscate the licence of all drivers found to have used psychoactive drugs or alcoholic drinks and report them to judiciary officials," he said. For over three decades, the sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in Iran, except for Christian minorities. Severe punishment, sometimes with jail time and flogging, is imposed on alcohol consumers, producers and traffickers. Last January, the Iranian centre combatting smuggling announced that 730 million dollars worth of alcoholic drinks are annually smuggled into Iran. According to official figures, police seize an average of 20 million litres of alcohol per year in Iran, which they believe amounts to a quarter of the total amount of liquor smuggled into the country.