KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan’s Nimroz province say they have arrested more than 330 people attempting to cross into Iran illegally, amid ongoing irregular migration and mass deportations of Afghans from the neighboring country.
Gul Mohammad Qudrat, spokesperson for the Taliban police command in Nimroz, said more than 300 people were detained at a hideout allegedly established by human smugglers in the third police district of Zaranj, the provincial capital.
One person was arrested on charges of human trafficking, and 10 vehicles, including eight Toyota cars, were seized during the operation, he said.
In a separate operation, another 30 people were arrested along the Delaram-Zaranj highway while trying to travel illegally to Iran. One person accused of transporting the group was also detained, and a truck was seized, Qudrat added.
Thousands of Afghans, particularly young people, continue to attempt irregular migration to Iran in search of work and to support their families. Some also seek to leave Afghanistan amid fears of reprisals under Taliban rule. While many remain in Iran, others travel onwards to Turkey in an attempt to reach Europe.
The journeys are often dangerous. Dozens of Afghans have been killed by Iranian border guards, died of thirst or gone missing while attempting to cross the border in recent years.
Earlier in September, at least 17 Afghan nationals, including five women and six children, died of thirst while attempting to enter Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, according to Haalvsh, a human rights group that monitors developments in the region.
In late July, the bodies of at least 19 Afghan nationals were discovered in a remote desert area between Afghanistan’s Helmand and Nimroz provinces after the group went missing while trying to reach Iran. Taliban authorities said the victims had died from extreme weather conditions, hunger and dehydration.
The continued attempts by Afghans to enter Iran come as Tehran presses ahead with its deportation campaign, returning hundreds of Afghan nationals daily. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 581,000 Afghan nationals have been deported from Iran so far in 2026, following more than 1.9 million in 2025.
