Desk Report,
What fear is driving Afghan refugees leaving Iran in droves?
The Tehran government has given a deadline for hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees and migrants taking refuge in Iran to leave the country. They were also warned that they would be arrested if they failed to leave Iran within the specified period. The deadline set by Tehran expired yesterday, Sunday.
What fear is driving Afghan refugees leaving Iran in droves?
After last month’s 12-day conflict with Israel, there has been great concern about security in Iran. And amid such uncertainty, the government’s deadline for Afghans to leave Iran has expired.
In 2023, the Iranian government began a campaign to expel foreigners living in the country “illegally”. In March this year, the Iranian government ordered that Afghan citizens who do not have the legal right to stay in Iran must voluntarily leave Iran by July 6, or they will be deported.
Since the government’s announcement, more than 700,000 Afghans have left Iran. Millions more are facing deportation. More than 230,000 Afghans left Iran in June alone, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Batoul Akbari, a restaurant owner in Tehran, told Al Jazeera that Afghans living in Tehran are suffering from “anti-Afghan sentiment”. People are being driven out of a home they have always known as their own. It is heartbreaking.
Batoul’s parents are from Afghanistan, but he was born in Iran. “Being born in Iran makes us feel like we have two countries. Our parents are from Afghanistan, but we have come to know this country as our home,” the restaurateur said.
The Tehran government has given a deadline for hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees and migrants taking refuge in Iran to leave the country. They were also warned that they would be arrested if they failed to leave Iran within the specified period. The deadline set by Tehran expired yesterday, Sunday.
After last month’s 12-day conflict with Israel, there has been great concern about security in Iran. And amid such uncertainty, the government’s deadline for Afghans to leave Iran has expired.
In 2023, the Iranian government began a campaign to expel foreigners living in the country “illegally”. In March this year, the Iranian government ordered that Afghan citizens who do not have the legal right to stay in Iran must voluntarily leave Iran by July 6, or they will be deported.
Since the government’s announcement, more than 700,000 Afghans have left Iran. Millions more are facing deportation. More than 230,000 Afghans left Iran in June alone, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Batoul Akbari, a restaurant owner in Tehran, told Al Jazeera that Afghans living in Tehran are suffering from “anti-Afghan sentiment”. People are being driven out of a home they have always known as their own. It is heartbreaking.
Batoul’s parents are from Afghanistan, but he was born in Iran. “Being born in Iran makes us feel like we have two countries. Our parents are from Afghanistan, but we have come to know this country as our home,” the restaurateur said.
