Iran says one million undocumented Afghan refugees have returned to their country with the majority of them voluntarily in the last six and half months criticising the international donors for their less-than-savoury contribution to the refugee programmes.
“About one million undocumented Afghan refugees have left Iran to their homeland through the Dogharoun border crossing since 21 March, marking start of the new year in Iran,” said the governor of Taybad in Khorasan Razavi Province, Hossein Jamshidi.
He told the Administrative Council members of the eastern county bordering Afghanistan that 90% of unauthorised Afghan citizens voluntarily arrived at the Dogharoun border to return to their country, according to IRNA news agency.
Last month, Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said during a visit to the border with Afghanistan that 2 million undocumented Afghans are still in Iran.
“By March 20 next year,” he added, “the government is preparing for the gradual repatriation of around one more million undocumented Afghans who entered the country illegally.”
Iran plans to reduce the total number of documented refugees to 3 million to match the 3% global standard as its current population of 87 million is expected to hit 90 million next year.
In the meantime, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has praised Iran’s services to Afghan immigrants in a meeting between its Senior Director of Office of Strategy and Organizational Performance, Kim Eling and the Deputy Minister of Interior, Seyed Mohammad Bathaei, in Geneva, IRNA reported.
In the meeting held on Monday on the sidelines of the 76th session of the Executive Committee of the UN Refugee Agency, Eling appreciated Iran’s efforts in hosting Afghan nationals, and cited the reduction in the aid from donor countries as the main challenge, the report said.
“Despite the cruel sanctions, we have provided outstanding services to the Afghan refugees over the past four decades,” the Iranian official said slamming the weak international support.
He expressed hope that donor countries will allocate appropriate financial assistance to the refugee welfare programs in Iran.
The majority of refugees are Afghan nationals who fled to neighbouring Iran from the Soviet Union’s occupation and the civil war in their country in the last 40 years.
On Monday, Iran and Pakistan which are shouldering the burden of refugees’ influx from the war-torn Afghanistan, discussed the developments in their neighbouring country ahead of Moscow Format meeting in Moscow.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Director General of South Asia Mohammadreza Bahrami and Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq Khan met in the Russian capital prior to the 7th meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan which opened on Tuesday.
The Moscow Format on Afghanistan includes Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The foreign minister of Afghan’s interim administration Amir Khan Muttaqi on Monday departed for Russia for the first time to attend the Moscow Format talks, local sources said.
In July, Russia recognised the Taliban administration as the official government of Afghanistan, making it the first country to do so.
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Tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran and across at least 28 cities in a wave of anti-government demonstrations, now entering their twelfth day.
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that Iran could face a strong response from the United States if its authorities kill protesters amid ongoing unrest.
Iran is now facing a near‑total internet blackout as anti-government protests sweep the country. Major cities including Tehran have seen connectivity drop sharply, leaving millions of residents isolated from online communication.
Iran’s Commander-in-Chief of Army, Major General Amir Hatami has warned against hostile rhetoric from U.S. and Israeli officials. “Iran considers the intensification of the enemies' rhetoric against the Iranian nation as a threat and will not leave its continuation unanswered,” Hatami said.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) sources reported a significant movement of U.S. military aircraft towards the Middle East in recent hours. Dozens of U.S. Air Force aerial refuelling tankers and heavy transport aircraft were observed heading eastwards, presumably to staging points in the region.
Snow and ice stalled travellers in northwest Europe on Wednesday, forcing around a thousand to spend the night in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport but delighting others who set out to explore a snow-blanketed Paris on sledges and skis.
Diplomatic tensions between Tokyo and Beijing escalated as Japan slams China's export ban on dual-use goods. Markets have wobbled as fears grow over a potential rare earth embargo affecting global supply chains.
Two people have been killed after a private helicopter crashed at a recreation centre in Russia’s Perm region, Russian authorities and local media have said.
Iran’s chief justice has warned protesters there will be “no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic”, as rights groups reported a rising death toll during what observers describe as the country’s biggest wave of unrest in three years.
Tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets in Tehran and across at least 28 cities in a wave of anti-government demonstrations, now entering their twelfth day.
Iran is now facing a near‑total internet blackout as anti-government protests sweep the country. Major cities including Tehran have seen connectivity drop sharply, leaving millions of residents isolated from online communication.
A series of statements by Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has reignited debate over freedom of speech, the role of the Orthodox Church, and the influence of the European Union.
A significant development in the complex Azerbaijan - Armenia scenario is the growing confrontation between Armenia’s political leadership and the Armenian Apostolic Church.
President Ilham Aliyev has said the opening of the Zangezur corridor is no longer in question, describing it as a strategic transport link that will connect mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and carry cargo from China and Central Asia to wider regional markets.
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