Iranian border guards have detained 156 citizens of Afghanistan who were trying to enter the country “illegally” at the Sistan and Baluchistan border.
Parviz Qasimzadeh, the border commander of Zabol district in Iran, told the Iranian Tasnim News Agency on Sunday, that these people were seeking to enter Iran illegally and were identified and arrested by the border guards.
Qasimzadeh warned that those who enter the country without valid visas will be handed over to the authorities and subsequently deported.
UN Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) estimates that since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, a total of 1,000,000 people have fled to Iran, resulting in an upsurge in international protection needs.
However, the country is sending thousands of refugees back over the border amid allegations of mistreatment by Iranian authorities.
Since March, Iran has deported 90,000 Afghanistan refugees from across the country and the number is on the rise.
According to ACAPS data, there are now 780,000 documented Afghanistan refugees in Iran – 586,000 are passport holders – and 2.6 million remain undocumented.
