Iran has stepped up efforts to deport Afghan migrants and said that by the end of March next year, two million undocumented migrants will be “expelled” from the country.
According to Iranian media reports, Ahmad Reza Radan, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s law enforcement, stated that “over 750,000 illegal migrants” have already been deported from Iran, and this number will total two million by the end of the current solar year.
Radan said: “This year alone, over 500,000 illegal migrants have been arrested and deported from Iran, and as a result, 250,000 others have voluntarily turned themselves in and left the country.”
The mass deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran has raised concerns among human rights organizations, and as tensions between Iran and Afghanistan continue to rise over this issue, international bodies are urging both governments to engage in dialogue and find a solution that ensures the safety and dignity of Afghan migrants while addressing Iran’s concerns over illegal immigration.
