Facing mounting economic strain, Iran’s frustration is increasingly being directed at Afghan migrants, with the government now announcing plans to deport 2 million Afghan refugees in the coming months.
Iranian police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan confirmed that over the next six months, approximately 2 million undocumented foreigners, primarily Afghans, will be expelled from the country. In an interview with the Young Journalists Club on Tuesday, Radan stated that the security forces and the Interior Ministry are working on a long-term strategy to deport a significant number of irregular migrants.
Afghans, who have sought refuge in Iran for over four decades due to war, poverty, and the Taliban’s resurgence, have found themselves the main targets of this deportation campaign. Iran shares a 900-kilometre (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, some of which runs through rugged mountainous terrain, making it difficult to monitor.
“Afghans are a cultured people, but Iran cannot absorb such a large influx of migrants,” Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said in a state media interview on Monday. While acknowledging Afghanistan’s challenges and cultural ties to Iran, he stressed that the government’s focus remains on addressing irregular migration in an orderly and quiet manner. Momeni further underscored that no concessions would be made for undocumented individuals.
In May, the Iranian Interior Ministry revealed that 1.3 million undocumented migrants had been deported to Afghanistan in the previous 12 months.
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Over 4 million Afghans in Iran
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), approximately 4.5 million Afghan nationals reside in Iran, although local reports suggest the number could be as high as 8 million. Many of these migrants avoid official registration out of fear of deportation and often attempt to use Iran as a transit route to reach Europe.
Afghans can easily integrate into Iranian society due to linguistic similarities and often work in low-paying jobs, particularly in agriculture and construction—sectors shunned by most Iranians. However, many Iranian citizens feel that Afghan migrants have overwhelmed the labor market and are straining the country’s social welfare system.
Public discourse around the high number of Afghan refugees has intensified, with the media frequently attributing crimes, food shortages, and infectious disease outbreaks to the migrant population. Online petitions and hate speech demanding mass deportations are becoming increasingly common.
Hostility towards defenders of Afghan refugees
Activists and journalists defending Afghan migrants have also been targeted. Jila Baniyaghoob, an Iranian journalist and women’s rights activist, has been a vocal supporter of migrant rights. However, her advocacy has made her a target of threats and hate. “I receive hateful messages and even death threats constantly,” she told DW, explaining the risks of standing up for Afghan refugees.
Last year, Baniyaghoob was among 540 journalists, artists, lawyers, and activists who signed a petition calling for solidarity with Afghan migrants, criticizing what they see as an organized campaign of hate. The group warned that Iran’s economic crisis and governmental mismanagement are being unfairly blamed on Afghan migrants, and mass deportations will not resolve the deeper issues. “Many will return,” the group stated, emphasizing that hatred and blame cannot solve the problem.
Protests and violence
In recent months, several Iranian cities have witnessed protests and violence directed at Afghan migrants. Nazar Mohammad Nazari, a young Afghan man, shared his experience of escalating tensions in Iran. After a fatal altercation between Iranians and Afghans at a wedding, he said, Afghan individuals faced arbitrary attacks. Fearing for his safety, Nazari returned to Afghanistan.
Migrants in Iran live with the constant threat of deportation, even those born in Iran who have Iranian documentation but little connection to Afghanistan. Recent reports indicate that Afghan descendants with Iranian papers are being deported, further complicating their already precarious status.
In response to the surge of Afghan migrants, Iran has started constructing a 74-kilometre-long concrete wall along its northeastern border, a major crossing point for refugees. The wall, standing 4 meters (13 feet) high and topped with barbed wire, is part of the government’s effort to curb irregular migration. However, given the vastness of the 900-kilometer shared border, many doubt its effectiveness in reducing illegal crossings.
