TEHRAN -- Iranian Police Chief Brigadier General Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf said here on Thursday that maintaining peace and the law order situation in the country is the highest priority at the moment in the wake of renewed "foreign threats to harm the national unity." Addressing a meeting of Friday prayer leaders and governors of Tehran provincial cities, Qalibaf added: "Administrators in charge of cities need to have a common goal to solve social problems."

He said that the first difficulty is lack of a model for cities to follow, IRNA said. Qalibaf added, "The big gap between practical measures and issues of scientific-theoretical safety can be minimized by coming up with a proper model."

Within the past 20 months, serious steps have been taken toward strengthening security in the province's cities by universities in cooperation with the Islamic promotion center's instructors, noted the police chief.

He classified current problems as deviations from social mores, disorders and chaos and said that goons, hooligans and drug distributors are responsible for creating most of the social disorders which, he said, should be seriously tackled by the police.

The meeting, which was attended by Friday prayer leaders and governors from Tehran province, was held at the Tehran Governor General's Office with the aim of assessing social problems.