A senior Iranian provincial official has called on businesses to stop employing undocumented Afghan migrants, saying non-compliance with government directives is exacerbating security and economic concerns, Iranian media reported on Monday.
Mehdi Aghabarari, the deputy governor for political, security and social affairs in Semnan province, told a meeting of the province’s foreign nationals commission that “unauthorised employment” of Afghan migrants remains the biggest challenge and that oversight of local businesses is insufficient.
“It is necessary for supervisory bodies to intervene more cohesively,” he said, according to Iranian media. He added that managing the current situation “requires cooperation from guilds and employers.”
Aghabarari warned that hiring undocumented workers in “sensitive jobs” creates public dissatisfaction and can pose security and economic risks. “Failure by some businesses and employers to comply with these requirements aggravates the problems,” he said.
He also called for stronger coordination between police, regulatory agencies and labour authorities in monitoring violations, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and livestock.
Iran has recently intensified deportations of Afghan migrants, expelling on average around 300 people a day, many through forced returns.
