Iran Deported Afghan Refugees With Residency Documents, Confirms UN

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed that the Islamic Republic has deported many Afghan refugees with valid residency documents in the past year.

The organisation said that Iran has sharply increased the forced return and deportation of migrants in 2024.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a video release on Friday (December 20) that the Islamic Republic of Iran has repatriated thousands of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan every week from its borders in 2024.

The organisation added that among them are immigrants who have valid residency documents.

Recently, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced that Iran has deported more than one million Afghan refugees in the past year.

UNHCR added that following the intensification of the deportation process of migrants from Iran, it has increased the provision of services to returnees at the Afghanistan-Iran border and provided immediate cash and social assistance to vulnerable returnees.

Meanwhile, Bakhtar News Agency, a Taliban-controlled media outlet, reported on Friday that at least 135 families had been deported from Iran and Pakistan in a single day and returned to Afghanistan. The Taliban media outlet wrote that 32 families from Pakistan and 103 families from Iran have returned to Afghanistan.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) had announced on Wednesday, December 18, that more than 1.2 million Afghan refugees had returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran in 2024. According to the organisation, more than 1.1 million people have entered the country from Iran's borders, 80,500 from Pakistan, and 100,000 through the airport.