Iran’s interior minister has claimed that 70% of Afghan migrants who left the country this year did so voluntarily, even as returnees report being expelled through force and abuse.
Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni told Iranian media that coordination with Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities had helped facilitate the process. “Seventy percent of those who returned to Afghanistan this year left voluntarily,” he said.
But Afghan migrants who were sent back from Iran have previously told media outlets they were forced out, describing violent treatment and the confiscation of money and belongings by Iranian police. Some said they faced “humiliation, violence and inhumane behavior” during expulsions.
Momeni said Iran has long hosted Afghan nationals and acknowledged their role in the country’s economy, noting cultural ties between the two nations. But he argued that Iran cannot accommodate the large influx of undocumented migrants.
“The country does not have the capacity to accept this volume of migrants,” he said. “The organization of foreign nationals is under way for those who have entered illegally, and coordination has been made with Afghanistan’s caretaker government.”
The minister added that while there may have been “some problems” during expulsions, Iran was committed to preserving the “dignity” of Afghan migrants and rejected any notion of xenophobia.
Figures show that Iran has deported nearly two million migrants to Afghanistan in 2025, many of whom have reported mistreatment by Iranian authorities.
