Islamic Republic Implements Surveillance Programme for Afghan Refugees Inside Iran

Mehdi Saadati, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, announced that Iran monitors Afghan refugees.

Saadati claimed that the “enemy” has now been utilising the Afghan refugees in Iran and stressed that these refugees have been under surveillance by Iran’s intelligence and security agencies.

The statement comes as last year, after an attack on an Iranian shrine which killed 13 people and wounded several others, Iran’s intelligence ministry claimed that the attackers were citizens of Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Although Saadati stressed that there are no security concerns from these Afghan refugees, he added that these refugees top the list of groups under surveillance by the Islamic Republic's intelligence and security agencies. He also mentioned the "illegal" activities of some Afghan refugees and warned them about these activities.

Saadati said, "According to our policies, we must have a good relationship with the people of Afghanistan."

Recalling the border tensions between the Taliban and Iran, this Iranian MP said that these "small incidents were resolved with the authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran”.

The process of expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran has increased in recent months. In the latest case, the Islamic Republic deported more than 7,500 Afghan refugees and handed them over to the Taliban at the Dogharon border.

According to Iranian officials, thousands of Afghans have been deported from Iran every week because they do not have valid residence documents.