Nearly 80,000 children crossed back into Afghanistan from Iran in June, including more than 6,700 unaccompanied minors, according to Save the Children. The sharp surge in returns — more than double the number recorded in May — is overwhelming an already fragile humanitarian response, the organization warned on Wednesday.
Of the children who crossed, nearly 39 percent were forcibly deported, the aid agency said, as Iran continues its large-scale expulsion campaign following a March 20 policy change requiring new documentation for Afghans to legally remain in the country.
The Islam Qala border crossing in Herat Province has become a focal point of the crisis. More than 223,000 people crossed through that post alone in June, up from just under 86,000 the previous month, according to data from The Border Consortium, a network of 11 humanitarian groups.
The spike followed regional tensions and a brief cease-fire in the Middle East. On June 26, more than 36,000 people reportedly crossed into Afghanistan in a single day — the highest daily figure from Iran so far this year.
“Many of the children we see are arriving after days of travel, under the scorching sun, with little food or water,” said Hameed*, a child protection officer with Save the Children stationed at the border. “Some are staying up to two nights at the crossing point, deeply distressed after being separated from their families.”
The charity has established two child-friendly spaces at the Herat crossing to provide psychosocial support and safe play areas. The centers are at capacity, hosting up to 400 children daily.
Afghanistan already hosts one of the world’s largest internally displaced populations — over 4.2 million — a figure expected to rise as deportations from Iran and Pakistan continue. Aid officials say the influx is straining services and pushing communities to the brink, particularly with severe cuts to humanitarian funding.
“Many Afghan children are arriving with next to nothing,” said Samira Sayed Rahman, Save the Children’s advocacy director in Afghanistan. “They are exhausted, afraid, and unsure how they will survive in a country already grappling with hunger and poverty.”
More than one million Afghans have returned from Iran and Pakistan in the first half of 2025 alone, according to aid groups. Meanwhile, Save the Children and other organizations are warning that one in five children in Afghanistan is expected to face crisis levels of hunger before October.
“We have a collective responsibility not to look away,” Rahman said. “The international community must step up now to ensure Afghan children and their families are not left without the support and hope they urgently need.”
