TEHRAN — The deputy interior minister for security affairs on Saturday dismissed as bogus a video clip showing a wave of Afghan refugees pouring into Iran.

“The video published on social media about the massive influx of Afghan refugees to the borders of Iran is related to the September of last year and was taken in Pakistan,” Seyyed Majid Mir-Ahmadi said. 

Mir-Ahmadi said the clip is made on the borders of Jaleq and Kalgan in the territory of Pakistan and has nothing to do with the arrival of Afghan refugees in Iran.

The deputy interior minister went on to say that according to a report by border command and the Governor of Sistan-Baluchestan province, Afghan refugees have not entered Iran.

Mir-Ahmadi added, “In the summer of last year, due to the changes in the government and the concerns created for a part of the Afghan people, a significant number of Afghans marched towards the borders of Iran, but about 5,000 of them were stopped and were sent to Afghanistan.”

He said illegal entry of some Afghan refugees into Iran at that time was possible, suggesting with the intensification of border security the illegal entry into the country is under more control.

The deputy minister added, “Now, more than one thousand people come to the borders every day, but the illegal entry of these citizens is prevented.”

Mir-Ahmadi noted that due to the problems in Afghanistan, efforts to enter Iran illegally are continuing, although the trend has slowed down.

He added, “Controlling and managing this important issue requires a fundamental change in blocking, guarding and controlling the borders and managing the entry of illegal citizens.”