Over 100,000 Afghans Return from Iran Since Start of Current Year, UNHCR Says

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports that more than 100,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since the beginning of the current Gregorian year, including 40,000 after the start of recent conflicts there.

UNHCR spokesperson Charlie Goodlik, who visited the border last week with UN partners and nongovernmental organizations, said Afghan families described a difficult choice: remain in Iran amid conflicts and destruction or return to Afghanistan, a country many have not seen in years or decades and which faces its own challenges, including ongoing tensions with Pakistan.

Ongoing forced deportations of Afghan migrants from Iran, combined with military tensions in the country, have contributed to the returns, according to UNHCR.

Returnees have demanded support from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and aid organizations to rebuild their lives. Rahmatullah, a returnee from Iran, said, "The situation in Iran is not good; they have told us every time in these years to go back to your own country; they forcibly deport us."

Khudadad, another returnee, said, "The cost is too high; the situation in Iran is getting worse day by day."

The leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan urged citizens in a message on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr to cooperate and assist Afghan migrants returning from neighboring countries.