Hamid Noori, the police chief of Zahedan in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, has announced that Iranian security forces have arrested 486 Afghan migrants as part of a social security enhancement initiative.
He stated that the detainees had been handed over to the relevant authorities for deportation.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Noori emphasised that the detention and deportation of undocumented migrants remain a top priority for security forces in Sistan and Baluchestan. He added that the initiative aims to “increase public safety and citizen satisfaction.”
Earlier, Ali Akbar Habibifar, police chief of Zabol in Sistan and Baluchestan, reported that security forces had detained 172 undocumented Afghan migrants over the past week. He confirmed that they had also been transferred to the relevant authorities for deportation.
This comes as the Iranian government has intensified its crackdown on Afghan migrants in recent months. Under new regulations, renting homes to undocumented migrants or employing them has been criminalised.
Despite these restrictive measures, Iran has deported more than 1.2 million Afghan migrants back to Afghanistan this year alone.
