Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have left Iran over the past weeks since Tehran gave more than four million undocumented Afghan migrants until July 6 to leave the country, the United Nations and other international organizations said, raising alarm over a dire shortage of funding to assist the returnees.
More than 256,000 Afghans returned to their country from Iran in June alone, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The agency said that said the unprecedented surge in repatriations hinders the ability of IOM and partners to provide aid, reaching only 10 percent of those in need.
Iran says it hosts more than 6 million Afghans, many of whom live there without legal status. Many Afghan migrants claim they face regular discrimination in Iran.
Some Iranian media reports indicated that even Afghans with valid visas have been forcibly expelled during the latest wave of deportations.
Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in mid-June has reportedly contributed to the departures, with Iranian state media and social media users claiming that an unspecified number of Afghan nationals were arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel.
Afghans Detained On Espionage Charges
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, said on X on July 5 that “hundreds” of Afghans and members of other ethnic and religious minorities have been detained and “accused of espionage.”
Bennett also expressed concern over what he described as the “labeling of Afghans [and] minority communities as traitors” by the Iranian media.
Afghan returnees are pictured at the Islam Qala border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran on June 28, 2025.
Several migrants living in Iran told RFE/RL that Afghan nationals who were detained on spying allegations faced mistreatment in custody and were subsequently deported to Afghanistan despite having valid residency permits and documentation.
A young Afghan migrant who lives in Tehran told RFE/RL that his father was recently detained and mistreated by the Iranian police over a bogus spying allegation.
"My father was arrested and tortured on charges of espionage,” the migrant said on condition of anonymity.
“His feet were tied with chains, and he was not given food or water. He was detained by the Iranian police for several days and later deported to Afghanistan. The situation here for Afghan refugees is very bad,” he added.
The migrant said his visa has recently expired and that he does not go out, fearing that he will be arrested and deported too.
Another Afghan refugee shared similar sentiments, saying “the situation of Afghan refugees has deteriorated further over the past week or two.”
“Even those who have legal status and work live in fear. Most of our friends have been expelled. The situation is very worrying,” he told RFE/RL on July 6.
The IFRC said the returnees have endured “exhaustion, hunger, and uncertainty on their journey home." Islam Qala border crossing, June 28, 2025.
The IOM and other international organizations, such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) who provide assistance to the returnees, said that many Afghans arrive with “nothing but the clothes on their back” and “in urgent need of food, medical care, and support.”
The IFRC said on July 5 that large groups of Afghans, including many children, were arriving via the Islam Qala border crossing, having endured “exhaustion, hunger, and uncertainty on their journey home,” as temperatures hovered over 43 degrees Celsius.
The IFRC said more than 800,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since January.
Meantime, hundreds of thousands more have arrived from Pakistan, another major host country for Afghan refugees. Pakistan plans to expel 3 million Afghans this year.
The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said last month that at least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan so far this year, sparking a crisis that could potentially destabilize the fragile situation in Afghanistan.