Iran’s minister of interior affairs, Eskandar Momeni, has once again called for the expulsion of undocumented Afghan refugees and said they should return to Afghanistan to help rebuild their country.
Momeni said Monday that based on the “Organization of Asylum Seekers” plan, refugees who do not have residency permits will be deported from Iran.
He stated that the current situation cannot be tolerated by Tehran.
Momeni said: “Afghan citizens in Iran are expected to go to their country and build their homeland.”
He also said that Iran will no longer accept asylum seekers.
After the Islamic Emirate regained control over Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Afghans fled to Iran and Pakistan.
Pakistan however, stepped up its deportation campaign late last year, and have since sent thousands of Afghan refugees home.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said late last year that an estimated three million Afghan refugees were living in Iran.
