Iran mandates mass departure of Afghans or risk imprisonment as deadline passes
In a move that has caused widespread concern, Iran has embarked on a mass deportation campaign of Afghan refugees in 2025, resulting in significant impacts on Afghanistan's stability and humanitarian situation.
According to reports, over 300,000 Afghan migrants have been deported from Iran within 12 days in early July 2025, with a daily average of about 30,000 deportations. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded over 700,000 Afghan returns from Iran between January and late June 2025, with 70% forcibly deported and 99% undocumented.
The massive and rapid influx of deportees is exerting enormous strain on Afghanistan's fragile economy and humanitarian infrastructure. The country is critically unprepared to absorb or reintegrate hundreds of thousands of returnees, many of whom face renewed displacement, poverty, and risks of irregular migration or exploitation.
The deportations contribute to a growing crisis of forced returns in the region, with Afghanistan simultaneously experiencing increased deportations from other neighboring countries, worsening instability. Families, including vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly, expelled without legal recourse, face bleak prospects upon return.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan has expressed concern but the deportations continue to accelerate amid regional tensions. The Iranian government has implemented a hardline approach by revoking documents that previously provided some legal status to Afghan refugees, thus rendering millions undocumented and subject to deportation without much legal protection. Iran reportedly set a deadline of July 6, 2025, for undocumented Afghans to leave, which has driven the surge in deportations and increased pressure on migrants.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have condemned the deportations as violating humanitarian norms and refugee protections, describing the expulsions as breaches of human dignity. They have called for compliance with international conventions and warned that the pace and scale of deportations are unsustainable and risk worsening humanitarian conditions and regional instability.
In light of these developments, it is clear that urgent action is needed to address the plight of these displaced individuals and to ensure that their rights are protected. The international community must work together to provide support for Afghanistan in managing this crisis and to uphold the principles of human dignity and refugee protection.
- The United Nations News and the International Organization for Migration's Opinion sections have been discussing the alarming situation in Afghanistan due to the massive migration of deported Afghans following Iran's war-and-conflicts-related actions.
- Despite the Taliban government's expressed concern, the daily General News reports indicate that Iran's hardline politics towards Afghan refugees continues to fuel a growing crisis of forced returns in the region, with potentially dire consequences for the humanitarian situation.
- Human rights organizations have voiced strong opinions, condemning Iran's migration policies as inhumane and a violation of international conventions, fearing that the ongoing war-and-conflicts in the region could escalate due to the unsustainable pace and scale of the forced deportations.
