Tehran (TDI): According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), 1.5 million Afghan refugees and migrants have been sent back to Afghanistan, and many deportations are still ongoing in Iran.Â
Iran has been hosting Afghan refugees for decades. It claimed that it has been hosting around 4 million undocumented Afghans who fled their country.
During March, the Iranian government issued a July deadline for Afghans to deport voluntarily, but due to the war with Israel, the authorities have now forcibly sent them back to Afghanistan. The United Nations has reported that the daily returns peaked at 50,000 people in the month of July.Â
Iranian authorities’ current crackdown on Afghans is linked to the accusation that has connected Afghans to the Israeli agency Mossad, and accused them of spying for Israel, especially during the current war between Iran with Israel.Â
Iranian media also reported that some individuals were arrested for espionage. Many media channels reported on the treatment of Afghans in Iran, as many Afghan individuals in Iran are afraid of the current deportations and scared to be labeled as spies.Â
Read More:Â Thousands of Afghans Face Deportation as US Court Ends TPS Protection
Barnett Rubin, who is an expert on Afghanistan and also served as senior adviser to the US Department of State, said that Tehran may be “looking for scapegoats” for its shortcomings during the war with Israel.Â
He added, “The Iranian government is very embarrassed by their security failures, so they had to find someone to blame.”
The Afghans who were deported from Iran also accused Iranian authorities of confiscating their passports and money and beating them with plastic batons.Â
To restrict the flow of irregular and illegal migration and smuggled drugs, and fuel. Iran has also been building a wall along its eastern borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan.Â
The Iranian authorities are also planning on making a national migration organization that will take over its efforts and duties to crack down on illegal migration.
An IR student whose interest lies in diplomacy and current affairs and a part time debater
