Millions of Afghans told to leave Iran 

Iran is home to an estimated 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, and many have lived there for decades.

But, millions of Afghan migrants and refugees in Iran have been asked to leave or face arrest as a deadline set by the government comes to an end.

But humanitarian organisations warned that mass deportations could further destabilise Afghanistan, one of the world’s most impoverished nations. 

In 2023, Tehran launched a campaign to expel foreigners it said were living in the country “illegally”. 

In March, the Iranian government ordered that Afghans without the right to remain should leave voluntarily by Sunday or face expulsion. 

Since then, more than 700,000 Afghans have left, and hundreds of thousands of others face expulsion. More than 230,000 departed in June alone, the United Nations International Organization for Migration said.

The government has denied targeting Afghans, who have fled their homeland to escape war, poverty and Taliban rule.
Sunday’s target date neared amid public concerns over security in the aftermath of the 12-day conflict with Israel, which the United States joined with air strikes on Iran’s uranium-enrichment facilities.

Source: Agencies