Iranian authorities have announced a major campaign to deport approximately two million undocumented Afghan migrants in the coming months. On August 18, 2025, Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni confirmed that the process will center on Afghans without legal documents and will be overseen by the National Migration Organization, emphasizing that returns should be managed with dignity and respect. Most of those deported are expected to leave via the Khorasan Razavi border, a traditional crossing point between Iran and Afghanistan.
Iran hosts more than six million Afghan nationals one of the largest refugee populations worldwide. Officials insist the programme is not anti-immigrant but is necessary to comply with national regulations, calling for serious international cooperation to address the challenge.
Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations have raised concerns, warning that the mass returns from Iran and Pakistan are fueling a deepening crisis. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 2.2 million Afghans have been deported from both countries since January 2025, leaving many to face worsening poverty, unemployment, and restrictive conditions under Taliban rule. On August 17, UNHCR cautioned that its funds are depleting and called for urgent international aid to support Afghan returnees as humanitarian needs escalate.
Pakistan is also set to begin forced repatriation of Afghan migrants after August 31, 2025, including those holding official registration documents—a move that has attracted international criticism and heightened regional tensions. Activists and rights groups warn that such expulsions may violate humanitarian norms and worsen prospects for millions already at risk.
The combined efforts by Iran and Pakistan to deport Afghan migrants underscore intensifying regional pressure, with severe humanitarian consequences as the situation in Afghanistan grows increasingly desperate.
-WNN Desk
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