Over One Million Afghan Refugees Deported from Iran in Past Year
In a significant escalation of immigration enforcement, Iranian authorities have deported over 1.12 million Afghan refugees between March 2024 and March 2025, Khaama Press reported. This crackdown is part of Tehran’s intensified policy aimed at curbing illegal immigration. Saeed Montazerolmahdi, spokesperson for Iran’s law enforcement command, confirmed that 1,190 deportation operations were conducted under the “Deportation Plan,” which reportedly contributed to a 7% reduction in kidnapping incidents nationwide.
Despite a target set by Iran’s police chief Ahmadreza Radan to deport two million undocumented migrants by March 2024, the actual number reflects a massive scale of forced repatriation. The deportations involved widespread raids in migrant-populated areas and utilized key border crossings, such as Islam Qala in Herat.
This mass deportation marks one of the largest waves of forced returns in Iran’s recent history, occurring amid ongoing economic instability and insecurity in Afghanistan since the Taliban regained power in August 2021. Human rights organizations have expressed concern over the humanitarian consequences of these expulsions, warning that the deported migrants face further displacement, poverty, and abuse due to limited reintegration support in Afghanistan.
