TEHRAN — Mojtaba Abdollahi, the governor of Iran’s Alborz province, announced that the detention and deportation of undocumented Afghan migrants would persist, reiterating a strict policy that has drawn international scrutiny.
“Undocumented foreign nationals will be detained and transferred to camps for deportation,” Abdollahi said, according to statements reported by Iranian media. He emphasized that the initiative to detain those without proper documentation would remain in place.
“Based on the decisions made and the coordination conducted, we have acted on the detention of unauthorized foreign nationals, much like other provinces, and our performance in this area has been effective,” he said.
Abdollahi acknowledged that administration of the detention program in Alborz province had faced challenges but expressed optimism about improving its execution.
“To improve the current situation and achieve a stable status, more effort is required,” he said. “I hope that with ongoing efforts and greater coordination, we can better organize the presence of foreign nationals in the province.”
Abdollahi also clarified that there was no specific timeline for ending the deportations.
“In Alborz province, unauthorized foreign nationals are detained and transferred to camps where their fingerprints and iris scans are recorded. Individuals detained in this manner will not be permitted to re-enter the country,” he said.
He added that migrants attempting to enter Iran with visas after being deported would be denied entry, citing their “unauthorized status.”
The ongoing deportation policy has sparked concern among humanitarian organizations. Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, recently warned that Afghanistan is ill-prepared to accommodate returning migrants from Iran and Pakistan, highlighting the vulnerability of those being sent back to the war-torn nation.
