TEHRAN – A border wall is scheduled to be constructed along Iran-Afghanistan borders to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the country.

The proposed project is planned to be completed in Khorasan Razavi province within a three-year period with a budget of 1.8 trillion rials (about three million dollars).

The project includes the construction of a four-meter-wide concrete wall, equipped with barbed wire and fence, as well as a road, IRNA reported.

The initiative to secure borders started in the Iranian calendar year 1379 (March 1990 - March 1991), with the aim of intensifying the security of borders in eastern regions of the country. It has been implemented in parts of the Iran-Afghanistan border in Sistan-Baluchestan province.

The project was initially planned to be completed in the Iranian year 1399 (March 2020 – March 2021), but it was postponed due to inadequate funds. Now it is expected to be finished within the next two years.

No permission to stay

In October 2023, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said unauthorized foreigners have no permission to stay in the country and receive services, IRIB reported.

Paying a visit to a center for organizing immigrants in the city of Karaj, he added illegal foreign nationals would be identified and sent to specific camps and then returned to their homeland.

“Illegal foreign immigrants are treated with dignity even though they have entered Iran's borders illegally,” Vahidi added.

In November 2023, Abdollah Mobini, the head of Iran’s immigration organization said, “Iran has no longer the capacity to accept new immigrants, and if the international community does not bear the responsibility for supporting refugees in Iran, most of them will migrate to European countries.”

The Islamic Republic of Iran is currently host to one of the largest and most protracted refugee populations in the world, the majority of whom are Afghan refugees.

The country is home to over 800,000 registered refugees and some 2.6 million undocumented Afghans. Today, more than 500,000 Afghan children - including undocumented Afghans and those who have newly arrived in Iran following the Taliban takeover - are benefitting from Iran’s inclusive education policies, one of the most progressive in the world.

Many of the refugees living in Iran are second and third-generation, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Services beyond expectations

Iran’s generous and exceptional services for refugees despite unfair economic sanctions has exceeded expectations and international responsibilities, an official with the National Organization for Migration has said.

Behzad Moradipour made the remarks in the meeting of the Almaty Process Experts Group which was held on November 29, 2023, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Representatives from eight states were participating in the event.

Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan are currently members of the Almaty process. Iran and Pakistan attended the meeting as observers.

Moradipour, who represented Iran in this meeting, highlighted that the country has been directly affected by the consequences of the massive influx of millions of refugees and foreigners for more than four decades.

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has made a very generous effort to provide services to millions of refugees and foreign nationals despite difficult living conditions and oppressive economic sanctions imposed on the country, he said.

MT/MG