KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Iran has expelled nearly 1.45 million Afghan migrants in the first six months of the current solar year, Nader Yarahmadi, head of the Center for Foreign Nationals and Migrants at Iran’s Ministry of Interior, said on Thursday.
According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Yarahmadi said the expulsion process is ongoing, with a similar number of Afghan migrants expected to be deported in the near future.
He added that about 4.5 million Afghan migrants, both legal and illegal, currently live in Iran. Around 80,000 marriages between Afghan migrants and Iranians have been registered, creating a population of roughly 250,000, including their children. Children born to Iranian mothers, or to Afghan mothers and Iranian fathers, are eligible for identity cards, Yarahmadi said.
Yarahmadi also said Afghan nationals can obtain a nine-month work visa, allowing them to work for a limited time. After the visa expires, they must leave Iran for three months before re-entering to “maintain their ties with their home country.”
Afghanistan is one of the largest sources of migrants in the world, and Iran hosts more than five million Afghan nationals, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The country has significantly accelerated the expulsion of Afghan migrants in recent months, particularly following its 12-day conflict with Israel in June.
Pakistan has also carried out a large-scale deportation campaign, sending more than 1.3 million Afghan refugees back over the past two years, and has intensified crackdowns following deadly border clashes with the Taliban.
The mass return of Afghan migrants comes as Afghanistan grapples with one of the world’s most severe humanitarian and human rights crises since the Taliban’s return to power. More than half of the population relies on foreign aid, while women and girls continue to face strict restrictions on education, employment, and public life.
The United Nations and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly called on Iran and Pakistan to halt mass deportations. They warn that returnees face extreme poverty, limited job opportunities, and heightened security risks under Taliban rule.
