More than 230,000 Afghans returned from Iran in June — most of them forcibly deported — as the number of expulsions surged ahead of a government-imposed deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said as quoted by AFP.
IOM reported that 233,941 people crossed back into Afghanistan from Iran between June 1 and 28. Of those, over 131,000 returned during the final week alone, said Avand Azeez Agha, a spokesman for the agency, citing data shared with Agence France-Presse.
Since January, more than 690,000 Afghans have returned from Iran, 70 percent of them forcibly removed, according to the IOM. For several days last week, returns reached as high as 30,000 per day, with numbers expected to rise further as Tehran’s July 6 deadline approaches.
Many of the returnees are arriving with few possessions and limited prospects. On Saturday, buses delivered families in steady succession to the IOM reception center at the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat Province, where people—men, women and children—emerged with suitcases and plastic bags filled with their belongings.
Unlike earlier waves of migration that often involved single men, recent deportations have seen a growing number of families, the IOM said. The trend reflects shifting pressures as Iran enforces stricter migration controls amid worsening regional and domestic economic conditions.
Afghanistan, now under the Taliban’s rule for nearly four years, continues to face entrenched poverty, widespread unemployment and limited access to social services. The Taliban administration has called for what it describes as a “dignified” return of Afghan nationals from neighboring countries, though infrastructure to support reintegration remains limited.
Iranian authorities have defended their deportation policies as a response to illegal immigration, while human rights groups have raised concerns over the treatment of migrants and the humanitarian fallout of mass expulsions.
