TEHRAN – According to the head of the National Organization for Migration, Nader Yar-Ahmadi, a total of 6.1 million authorized and unauthorized Afghan nationals are living in the country.

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

Some 2.1 million of the immigrants are documented, the information of the two million others have been registered, and the rest have illegally entered the country, ISNA quoted Yar-Ahmadi as saying.

Over the past Iranian calendar year (March 2024 – March 2025), more than one million undocumented nationals were deported to their own country, of whom forty percent returned voluntarily, the official noted.

Women and children make up the majority of unauthorized foreign nationals, who may be even working in the country and pose no threat. However, due to high costs (of food, transportation, fuel, and so on), imposed by refugees on the country, and inadequate international aid, Iran wants them to return to their own home country, he added.

In a recent meeting between Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation and the Director General for South Asia at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, the Taliban called for joint meetings with Tehran to address the situation of Afghan migrants.

According to reports on Saturday, Afghanistan’s Acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Mawlawi Abdul Kabir met with Mohammad Reza Bahrami and his accompanying delegation in Kabul. 

During the meeting, Abdul Kabir highlighted the deep historical ties between the two nations and expressed appreciation for Iran’s decades-long hospitality toward Afghan migrants. He also called for continued Islamic compassion in Iran’s treatment of these migrants.

The Taliban official noted that Kabul is implementing plans for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees and revealed that 46 residential townships are currently under construction to accommodate returnees.

In response, Bahrami acknowledged the presence of several million Afghan nationals in Iran, many of whom lack legal documentation. He emphasized the need for greater cooperation between the two countries to address ongoing challenges and extended an official invitation to the acting minister to visit Tehran.

The Iranian diplomat also welcomed Afghanistan’s housing initiative, describing it as a positive step toward facilitating the voluntary return of migrants to their homeland.

Afghan refugees will return gradually, with dignity

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has said Afghan refugees will return to their country in a process that will be gradual and with dignity.

He said that officials of the two countries are working on a plan to return Afghans residing in Iran, IRNA reported.

“We are negotiating with the Afghan government so that this process can be done in a principled and organized way.

We do not want the return of [Afghan] nationals to become a social crisis for the two countries. The important principle for us is to do the work based on a logical and reasonable procedure,” he explained.

In case the international community refrains from taking responsibility and fairly sharing the burden of hosting refugees, the Islamic Republic of Iran will probably revise its immigration policies, Yar-Ahmadi has said.

MT/MG