Iran has expelled more than 5 lakh Afghan citizens from the country in just 16 days. This action took place between 24 June and 9 July. That is, on an average, more than 30,000 Afghans were expelled from the country every day. The United Nations has termed it as one of the biggest forced evacuations of the decade. Iran is taking strict action against migrants citing internal security after a tense conflict with Israel. Iran had announced in March 2025 that Afghan migrants living illegally should leave the country by July 6, or else they would be forcibly expelled. This campaign intensified after the 12-day military conflict between Iran and Israel in June. Refugees said – We were kept hungry, beaten, looted. Bashir, an Afghan refugee deported from Iran, while talking to the media, said that the officials asked him for Rs 17,000. Then kept in the detention center for two days. During this time neither food nor water was given. According to Bashir, the officers used to abuse him. Another youth said that his father was arrested and tied in shackles on charges of spying. They were not given food and water and later detained and sent to Afghanistan. Talking to The Guardian, an Afghan woman said that Iranian officials came at night. They did not even let us take the children’s clothes. They threw us away like garbage. On the way, they took money from the bank card. They charged 80 rupees for a water bottle and 170 rupees for a sandwich. Among the people expelled from Iran, there are hundreds of minor children, many of whom are orphans and alone. According to the UN, hundreds of children are being found without guardians at the border every week. UN official Mihyong Park told CNN that this number is shocking. The accused was made to confess his ‘crime’ on TV. An Afghan citizen was shown confessing to spying for Israel on Iran’s government channel. He said that an Afghan living in Germany asked him to give information about some places and gave him 2 thousand dollars. But his name, concrete evidence and process were not told. United Nations Afghanistan Special Representative Richard Bennett wrote on X – Hundreds of Afghans have been arrested on the pretext of being ‘spies’. They are being referred to as traitors and insects in the media. Return of Afghan citizens from Pakistan also accelerated. So far 16 lakh Afghans have been sent back from Iran and Pakistan together in 2025. UNHCR fears that this figure could go up to 30 lakh by the end of the year. According to UNHCR Afghanistan Representative Arafat Jamal, Afghanistan is not prepared to handle such a large exodus. There is no place to live, no employment, no security.
