KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has raised alarm over a dramatic surge in the number of Afghan migrants returning from Iran, warning that the mass returns risk further destabilizing Afghanistan’s already fragile situation.
In a statement on Saturday, the UN refugee agency reported that on Thursday alone, 36,100 Afghans entered the country through the Iran-Afghanistan border—the highest single-day return in recent months.
According to UNHCR, the trend of returns has been rising sharply since June 13. Since March 20, when Iran introduced a formal return deadline, more than 640,000 Afghans have returned, 366,000 of them deported, including refugees and individuals in refugee-like conditions.
Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s Representative in Afghanistan, who recently visited the Islam Qala border crossing, described the scene as heartbreaking.
“Afghan families are being uprooted once again arriving with few belongings, exhausted, hungry, and fearful of what awaits them in a country many have never even seen before,” Jamal said.
He added that women and girls, in particular, are deeply concerned about the severe restrictions on their freedom of movement and access to education and employment.
UNHCR estimates that a total of 1.2 million Afghans have returned or been deported from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone. The agency warns that the escalating influx is deepening the country’s humanitarian emergency, already exacerbated by economic collapse, drought, and widespread poverty.
UNHCR also warned that declining international aid threatens to worsen what it described as Afghanistan’s complex and overlapping crisis.
“We need to act fast,” Jamal urged. “We call on the international community not only to provide emergency relief, but also to support long-term reintegration. Sustainable funding is critical to prevent further cycles of instability and displacement.”
The agency said it is currently engaged in dialogue with regional governments to ensure that all returns to Afghanistan are voluntary, safe, and conducted with dignity. UNHCR emphasized that forced or pressured returns are not a viable solution and risk undermining regional stability.
The refugee agency, along with other UN bodies and humanitarian partners, is working to deliver both immediate assistance and longer-term support to returnees.
Iranian authorities have reportedly intensified deportations of Afghans following the country’s recent ceasefire agreement with Israel. Taliban officials claim that at least 60,000 Afghans have been expelled from Iran in just the past two days.
Many of the returnees have reported abusive and degrading treatment by Iranian police during detention and deportation.
