More than 30000 Afghan migrants returned from Iran on Wednesday, June 25, according to local Taliban officials in Herat province. The sharp increase comes amid heightened tensions in Iran following its recent conflict with Israel.
Ahmadullah Muttaqi, head of the Taliban’s Directorate of Information and Culture in Herat, said that around 600 passenger buses transported the migrants to the Islam Qala border crossing. Posting on the social media platform X, he noted that the return of Afghan migrants from Iran would continue in the coming days, with hundreds more buses expected to arrive at the border.
Muttaqi described Wednesday’s influx as unusually large, even as the number of returnees had been rising in recent weeks.
Taliban authorities said they had distributed water and food to returnees at the border and were working overnight to transfer them to their respective provinces.
The surge in returns follows Iran’s reported intensification of pressure on Afghan migrants, particularly after its military confrontation with Israel. Earlier this week, the governor of Tehran announced that increased security checkpoints had led to a three- to fourfold rise in the arrest and deportation of undocumented migrants.
Iran hosts one of the world’s largest populations of Afghan refugees, many of whom fled decades of conflict and instability. Rights groups have criticised Iran’s recent mass deportations, citing concerns over the treatment of returnees under Taliban rule.
