Iran has deported approximately 520,000 undocumented Afghan migrants through the Dogharon border in northeastern Khorasan Razavi province in the past nine months, Majid Shoja, the commander of the province’s border police, said.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi stated in October 2023 that unauthorized foreigners are not permitted to stay in the country or receive services, according to IRIB.
In November 2023, Abdollah Mobini, head of Iran’s immigration organization, expressed concerns about Iran’s capacity to accept new immigrants. “If the international community does not support refugees in Iran, most will likely migrate to European countries,” he said.
Iran hosts one of the world’s largest and most prolonged refugee populations, predominantly Afghan refugees. The country is home to over 800,000 registered refugees and approximately 2.6 million undocumented Afghans.
Many refugees in Iran are second and third-generation, as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
