Mass expulsions continue amid allegations of mistreatment, scapegoating, and systemic discrimination
Following the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, the Iranian regime has significantly escalated its campaign of arrests and deportations targeting Afghan refugees. Despite earlier claims that wartime conditions might delay such efforts, the Iranian Interior Ministry has confirmed that the crackdown continued throughout the conflict and has since intensified.
The regime had previously issued a deadline in March for the departure of undocumented Afghan nationals. However, since the end of hostilities with Israel, deportation operations have reached unprecedented levels, with growing concerns from humanitarian agencies over the scale and conditions of the expulsions.
Mass Expulsions and Humanitarian Concerns
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), approximately 70 percent of Afghan returnees from Iran were forcibly deported—many of them women and children. Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s representative in Afghanistan, warned that the volume of deportations has overwhelmed border processing facilities.
“Returns at the borders have become so numerous that they are no longer manageable,” said Jamal. “Sometimes up to five buses arrive from Iran at the same time, carrying men, women, and children who are tired, hungry, disoriented, and shocked.”
In June alone, more than 230,000 Afghan refugees were returned from Iran. Iranian authorities have set July 6 as the final deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave the country voluntarily or face removal.
Rising Hostility and Public Incitement
Afghan refugees inside Iran report an increasingly hostile atmosphere, with media outlets and public figures encouraging citizens to report undocumented Afghans. Refugees say they face routine verbal abuse in public, with accusations of being “Israeli spies” becoming disturbingly common.
Some have reported being detained and deported despite holding valid legal documents. Daily crossings at the Dogharun–Islam Qala border remain high, but many returnees describe abusive treatment by Iranian border guards.
Checkpoints have also been expanded inside urban areas—particularly Tehran—following concerns over micro-drone attacks during the conflict. These checkpoints have disproportionately targeted Afghans, many of whom have had their phones confiscated or have been harassed for lacking residency documents.
Education, Separation, and Statelessness
Following the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan, many families fled to Iran in hopes of continuing their daughters’ schooling. Now, some of those same families are facing deportation after the Iranian authorities declined to renew their visas.
UNICEF reports that over 5,000 Afghan children have been separated from their families during these deportations. Many Afghan refugees in Iran are now in their third generation, yet even those born in the country are denied citizenship and basic rights.
Refugees also face systemic barriers to financial services and communication access. Since the Taliban takeover in 2021, recent Afghan arrivals have struggled to open bank accounts or purchase SIM cards. Most can only find work as low-wage day laborers under precarious conditions.
Scapegoating and Misinformation
More than 21 provinces—mostly in western Iran—have reportedly been declared partially or entirely “Afghan-free zones” by local authorities. Notably, these same regions, along with Tehran and Isfahan, were key targets of Israeli airstrikes during the war.
Security officials from Afghanistan’s former government have rejected Iranian claims linking Afghan refugees to espionage, stressing that most deportees lack the knowledge or access necessary for such activities.
Meanwhile, reports from international media, citing sources within the Iranian regime, suggest that the actual source of leaked intelligence to Israel lies within Iran’s own security ranks. These reports claim that Israeli intelligence had foreknowledge of sensitive IRGC meetings—information that could only have come from high-level insiders, not ordinary Afghan migrants.
A Crisis Without Resolution
According to the UN, over one million Afghans have been forcibly returned or expelled from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone. Iran continues to fortify its eastern borders with walls and checkpoints, citing security concerns.
Roughly six million Afghans are estimated to live in Iran, and while exact figures are difficult to confirm, the UNHCR believes that at least two million remain undocumented. The growing scale of deportations, combined with systemic marginalization and scapegoating, is fueling a humanitarian crisis with no clear end in sight.
