KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The deportation of Afghan nationals from Iran has surged sharply in recent weeks, with an alarming spike in the number of entire families being deported—a shift that marks a troubling escalation in an already dire humanitarian crisis.
According to data released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), May 2025 saw 15,675 Afghan families expelled from Iran—more than double the 6,879 families deported the previous month. Compared to the same period last year, the number of undocumented Afghan families returned has more than tripled.
The shift is particularly concerning given that previous deportation waves from Iran primarily consisted of single young men. In contrast, IOM data shows that women and children now comprise the majority of returnees in family groups: 28% are women, 46% are children, and only 26% are men.
This dramatic increase comes in the wake of public announcements by Iranian authorities, who in late May declared that all undocumented Afghans must leave the country by July 6.
The deadline could impact up to 4 million Afghans currently residing in Iran without legal status.
In total, over 450,000 Afghans have been deported from Iran between January and May 2025, including more than 30,000 families.
On May 29 alone, IOM recorded 955 families returning. In the final week of May, from the 25th to June 1, 6,387 families—comprising 24,275 individuals—were deported, along with nearly 26,000 single individuals.
Despite the scale of the crisis, humanitarian assistance remains severely limited. Due to funding shortages, IOM was only able to support 1,106 families—just 17% of those deported during that period.
This unfolding emergency coincides with continued mass deportations from Pakistan, placing unprecedented strain on Afghanistan’s overstretched reception and reintegration systems, particularly in border provinces such as Nimruz and Herat, where returnees are arriving in overwhelming numbers.
With the July 6 deadline fast approaching, aid agencies and local authorities warn that the number of deportees is likely to rise even further in the coming weeks, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian situation for returnees, many of whom arrive destitute, homeless, and without access to basic services.
