Inside Iran’s crackdown on Afghan migrants after the war with Israel

Tehran, Iran – The question of Afghan refugees and migrants being sent backmost from Iran has not stopped, with much than 410,000 being pushed retired since the extremity of the 12-day warfare with Israel connected June 24.

More than 1.5 cardinal Afghan refugees and migrants person been sent backmost successful 2025, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), portion the Red Cross says much than 1 cardinal radical much could beryllium sent backmost by the extremity of the year.

Iran has been hosting Afghans for decades. While it has periodically expelled irregular arrivals, it has present taken its efforts to unprecedented levels aft the warfare with Israel that killed much than 1,000 radical successful Iran, many of them civilians.

Iran has besides been gathering a partition on its monolithic eastbound borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan to stem the travel of irregular migration, and smuggled drugs and fuel.

The parliament is besides readying for a nationalist migration organisation that would instrumentality implicit its efforts to ace down connected irregular migration.

‘I’m afraid’

“I consciousness similar we’re being singled retired due to the fact that we’re casual targets and don’t person galore options,” said Ahmad*, a 27-year-old undocumented Afghan migrant who came to Iran 4 years ago.

Like others, helium had to enactment operation and manual labour jobs earlier managing to get hired arsenic the custodian of an aged residential gathering successful the occidental portion of the capital, Tehran.

At the existent complaint of Iran’s heavily devalued currency, helium gets paid the equivalent of astir $80 a month, which is wired to the slope paper of an Iranian national due to the fact that helium cannot person an relationship successful his name.

He has a tiny spot wherever helium tin slumber successful the gathering and tries to nonstop wealth to his household successful Afghanistan whenever possible.

“I don’t truly permission the gathering that overmuch due to the fact that I’m acrophobic I’ll beryllium sent back. I don’t cognize however overmuch longer I tin unrecorded similar this,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Vahid Golikani, who heads the overseas nationals’ section of the governor’s bureau successful Tehran, told authorities media past week that undocumented migrants indispensable not beryllium employed to support section labour.

Daily returns, which see expulsions and voluntary returns, climbed steeply aft the commencement of the war, with mean regular returns exceeding 29,600 successful the week starting July 10, said Mai Sato, UN peculiar rapporteur connected the concern of quality rights successful Iran.

She was among 4 peculiar rapporteurs who decried the wide returns connected Thursday, adding their dependable to rights organisations specified arsenic Amnesty International.

“Afghanistan remains unsafe nether Taliban rule. These wide returns interruption planetary instrumentality and enactment susceptible people, particularly women, children, and minorities, astatine terrible hazard of persecution and violence,” Sato said.

Alleged information risks

Authorities and authorities media person said undocumented immigrants whitethorn airs a information risk, alleging that immoderate of them were paid by Israel to transportation retired tasks wrong Iran.

Afghan refugees get from Iran astatine Islam Qala borderline betwixt Afghanistan and Iran, connected July 5, 2025 [Mohsen Karimi/AFP]

While authorities tv has aired confessions from a fistful of unidentified imprisoned Afghans, but their numbers bash not look to lucifer the standard of the expulsions.

The televised confessions featured men with covered eyes and blurred-out faces saying they had sent photographs and accusation online to anonymous handlers linked with Mossad.

Hundreds of Iranians person besides been arrested connected suspicion of moving for Israel, and respective Iranians person been executed implicit the past weeks arsenic the authorities works to increase ineligible punishments for spying.

Mohammad Mannan Raeesi, a subordinate of parliament from the ultraconservative metropolis of Qom, said during a authorities tv interrogation past week, “We don’t person a azygous migrant from Afghanistan among the Israeli spies.”

He pointed retired that immoderate Afghans person fought and died for Iran, and that attempts to expel irregular arrivals should debar xenophobia.

Economic pressures

Before the latest question of forced returns, Iranian authorities reported the authoritative fig of Afghan refugees and migrants astatine a whopping 6.1 million, with galore speculating the existent fig was overmuch higher.

Only astir 780,000 person been fixed authoritative exile presumption by the government.

Supporting millions of refugees and migrants, regular and irregular, takes a toll connected a authorities that spends billions annually connected hidden subsidies connected essentials similar fuel, energy and breadstuff for everyone successful the country.

Since 2021, determination person been complaints among immoderate Iranians astir the economical interaction of hosting millions who poured into Iran unchecked successful the aftermath of the Taliban’s chaotic takeover of Afghanistan.

Amid expanding hostility towards the Afghan arrivals implicit the past years, section newspapers and societal media person progressively highlighted reports of crimes similar theft and rape allegedly committed by Afghan migrants. However, nary authoritative statistic connected specified crimes person been released.

That has not stopped immoderate Iranians, on with a ample fig of anonymous accounts online, from cheering connected the wide returns, with fashionable hashtags successful Farsi connected X and different societal media portraying the returns arsenic a “national demand”.

Again, determination are nary reliable statistic oregon surveys that amusement what information of the Iranian colonisation backs the move, oregon nether what conditions.

Some tearful migrants told Afghan media aft being returned from Iran that information forces bushed oregon humiliated them portion putting them connected buses to the border.

Others said they were abruptly deported with lone the apparel connected their back, and were incapable to get their past paycheques, savings, oregon downpayments made for their rented homes.

Some of those with ineligible documentation person not been spared, arsenic reports emerged successful caller weeks of Afghan refugees and migrants being deported aft having their documents shredded by police.

Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani and Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni person separately said the authorities is lone seeking undocumented migrants.

“In cases wherever ineligible residents person been deported, those instances person been investigated,” Momeni said past week, adding that implicit 70 percent of those returned came guardant voluntarily aft the authorities acceptable a deadline to permission for aboriginal July.

Afghan returnees who fled Iran to flight deportation and struggle stitchery astatine a UNHCR installation adjacent the Islam Qala crossing successful occidental Herat province, Afghanistan, connected June 20, 2025 [Omid Haqjoo/AP Photo]

‘I consciousness a batch of choler among the people’

For those Afghans who stay successful Iran, a big of different restrictions marque beingness difficult.

They are barred from entering dozens of Iranian cities. Their enactment permits whitethorn not beryllium renewed each year, oregon the renewal fees could beryllium hiked suddenly. They are incapable to bargain property, cars oregon adjacent SIM cards for their mobile phones.

They are seldom fixed citizenship and look difficulties successful getting their children into Iranian schools.

Zahra Aazim, a 22-year-old teacher and video exertion of Afghan root based successful Tehran, said she did not genuinely consciousness the grade of the restrictions associated with surviving successful Iran for Afghans until a fewer years ago.

Her household migrated to Iran astir 45 years ago, soon aft Iran’s 1979 Islamic gyration that brought the incumbent theocratic constitution to power.

“What truly bugs maine is the information that I was calved successful Iran, and my household has been surviving present for implicit 4 decades, but I’m inactive incapable to get thing arsenic basal arsenic a driver’s licence.

Zahra Aazim says she is acrophobic things volition worsen for refugees and migrants successful Iran [Courtesy of Zahra Aazim]

“That’s not to notation cardinal documents similar a nationalist ID paper oregon an Iran-issued commencement certificate,” she told Al Jazeera.

By law, those documents are reserved for Iranian nationals. Afghan-origin radical tin use if their parent is Iranian oregon if they are a pistillate joined to an Iranian man.

Aazim said Iran’s rules person lone gotten stricter implicit the years. But things took a crisp crook aft the war, and she has received hundreds of threatening oregon insulting messages online since.

“I’ve been proceeding from different Afghan-origin friends successful Iran … that this is nary longer a spot wherever we tin live,” she said.

“A person called maine with the aforesaid connection aft the war. I thought she meant she’s reasoning astir moving to different state oregon going backmost to Afghanistan. I ne'er thought her past edifice would beryllium [taking her ain life].”

Aazim besides said her 23-year-old member was taken by constabulary from a Tehran cafe – and aboriginal released – connected suspicion of espionage.

The incident, on with videos of violence against Afghans that are circulating connected societal media, has made her consciousness unsafe.

“I consciousness a batch of choler among the Iranian people, adjacent successful immoderate of my Iranian friends. When you can’t lash retired against those successful powerfulness above, you commencement to look for radical astatine little levels to blame,” she said.

“I’m not saying don’t instrumentality immoderate enactment if you person information concerns astir Afghan migrants … I conscionable privation they would dainty america respectfully.

“Respect has thing to bash with nationality, ethnicity oregon geography.”

*Name has been changed for the individual’s protection.