A new report from the Refugee Studies Center says that the informal land border crossings into Iran have become a critical — if perilous — escape route for Afghan migrants fleeing Taliban rule and seeking economic opportunity, often with the aim of continuing on to Turkey or Europe.
According to the center’s May report, approximately one million Afghans have crossed into Iran through unofficial routes since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. The migration, the study notes, is driven primarily by war, repression and poverty.
The report cites data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) showing that Iran currently hosts around 3.7 million Afghan nationals, of whom only about 761,000 are officially registered. The remainder live in the country without legal documentation, making them especially vulnerable to exploitation, detention, and deportation.
But while Iran serves as a vital transit point, the report highlights the severe dangers Afghans face during the journey. It describes the Iranian borderlands as among the most treacherous migratory corridors in the region. Migrants face extreme weather, treacherous terrain, violence at the hands of smugglers and border guards, and frequent shortages of food and drinking water.
“Many reports describe Afghan migrants being abandoned by smugglers or tortured by Iranian border agents,” the center noted. “Cases of death, abuse, shootings, and beatings at the hands of Iranian authorities are frequently reported, although the exact number of those who die or go missing remains unknown.”
The number of migrants attempting to enter Iran has surged in the wake of the Taliban’s increasingly repressive policies. These include severe restrictions on women’s education and employment, a ban on female public presence without a male guardian, and growing poverty linked to Afghanistan’s economic collapse.
Citing Amnesty International, the Refugee Studies Center noted that between August and December 2021 alone, at least 59 Afghan migrants were killed and 31 injured during attempts to cross into Iran.
“Given the Taliban’s authoritarian regime and the dire humanitarian situation, many Afghans lack both the financial means and time to secure valid travel documents,” the report says. “Moreover, Iran’s embassy in Kabul only issues a limited-entry visa valid for three months, leaving many with no option but to risk informal crossings.”
Earlier this year, Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Afghanistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, told the Human Rights Council that nearly 8 million Afghans have left the country since the Taliban takeover.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that Taliban-imposed restrictions — especially those targeting women and girls — have become key drivers of mass migration. In addition to the crackdown on women’s rights, the Taliban have also imposed strict dress codes and curbed public freedoms for men, adding to the atmosphere of fear and repression that continues to fuel the exodus.
