Taliban, US-Afghan Chamber Discuss Trade & Banking In Kabul

According to a report by the official IRNA news agency on Saturday, 28 June, Movahedi-Azad made the remarks during a ceremony in the city of Hamedan. He specifically called on Afghan nationals without valid residency permits to depart Iran immediately, warning that those who fail to comply will face legal consequences.

“Foreign nationals, especially our Afghan brothers and sisters, whom we have hosted for years, should help ensure that unauthorised individuals leave Iran promptly,” he said. “Violators will face consequences.”

Movahedi-Azad also called on legally documented migrants to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity among their communities, particularly any suspected cooperation with Israel.

He added that those who come forward voluntarily to regularise their status may be eligible for “legal leniency.”

Afghans constitute the largest migrant population in Iran and are frequently referred to in official discourse and state media as “foreign nationals” or “unauthorised foreigners.”

Following the recent ceasefire between Iran and Israel, authorities have intensified the deportation of Afghan migrants. Thousands are reportedly being expelled from Iran each day under difficult and pressured conditions.

Taliban officials in Herat have said that approximately 30000 Afghan nationals are returning daily via the Islam Qala border crossing. Reports indicate that nearly 100000 Afghans were deported from Iran in the past week alone.

Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s regional health director, said on Saturday that more than 71,000 Afghan migrants have returned in the past two weeks alone, with over 90 percent entering the country from Iran.

Balkhy warned that health facilities along Afghanistan’s border regions are on the verge of collapse due to the rapid influx of returnees and a critical shortage of resources.

The number of forced returns from neighbouring countries, particularly Iran, has surged dramatically in recent weeks. According to Taliban officials in Herat, more than 30,000 Afghan migrants crossed back from Iran in a single day last week.

Previously, Roza Otunbayeva, the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), stated that an average of 10,000 Afghans are being deported daily from Iran.

Speaking in a televised interview, Momeni said, “We are not hostile toward foreigners or neighbouring countries. But we cannot accept individuals entering our country and harming our security.”

He acknowledged that “many honourable individuals” are among the foreign nationals living in Iran, but added that the country is unable to accommodate the current volume of migration. “Quantitatively, our country is not capable of accommodating this many foreign nationals,” he said.

Momeni’s remarks come as reports emerge of intensified crackdowns on Afghan migrants across Iran, following a ceasefire agreement that ended a 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.

Sources in multiple Iranian cities told Afghanistan International that security forces have stepped up arrests of Afghan nationals. Police have allegedly raided migrant homes and workplaces, confiscating mobile phones over suspicions of espionage and national security concerns, including possible links to Israel.

During the recent conflict, Iranian authorities arrested 700 Iranian citizens on charges of “espionage” and “collaboration” with Israel. Reports also indicate that at least five Afghan nationals have been detained on similar allegations.

Iranian state media has aired video confessions from several of the detained Afghans, in which they admit to cooperating with Israeli intelligence. However, it remains unclear under what circumstances the confessions were recorded.

Although Momeni noted that many of those arrested were Iranian citizens, the targeting of Afghan migrants has escalated. The Taliban recently claimed that more than 100,000 Afghan migrants have returned through the Islam Qala border crossing in recent days, as deportations and voluntary returns increase.

In its weekly update, the IOM said a total of 88308 Afghan nationals were returned during that period. However, due to limited resources, the organisation was only able to provide assistance to 11 percent of them.

The IOM appealed for urgent funding to address the critical protection and humanitarian needs of returnees, warning that current support capacities are insufficient to meet the scale of need.

According to the report, 55 percent of those returned last week were forcibly deported, while 64 percent were part of family units.

The organisation also highlighted a sharp increase in deportations from Iran. In the previous week, from 12 to 18 June, 32844 Afghans were returned, less than half the number recorded in the latest reporting period.

Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that more than 71000 Afghans had returned from Iran and Pakistan between 1 and 14 June.

Looking ahead, the IOM has projected that in 2025, around 2 million Afghans could return from Iran and more than 1.6 million from Pakistan, underscoring the need for sustained international support to manage the growing crisis.

In a post on the social media platform X on Friday, Huizenga responded to Mujahid’s denial of his earlier claims regarding the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

“These statements made by Mr. Mujahid are as illegitimate as the government he claims to represent,” Huizenga wrote. “This is yet another example of why I believe the US government should stop sending taxpayer dollars to Afghanistan and why I have introduced legislation to stop taxpayer dollars from funding the Taliban.”

The remarks follow Huizenga’s statements during a recent hearing of the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, where he argued that the Biden administration’s rapid withdrawal from Afghanistan had dramatically altered the regional threat landscape.

He warned that terrorist groups, including ISIS-Khorasan and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are expanding their capabilities and pose a growing risk to regional and global security.

In response, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid insisted that the Taliban-led government is strong, maintains full control over Afghan territory, and does not allow any group to use Afghan soil to launch attacks against other nations.

The exchange underscores growing tensions between the Taliban and US lawmakers, particularly amid the US House of Representatives’ recent passage of a bill aimed at preventing American taxpayer funds from reaching terrorist organisations.

The Taliban, which remains unrecognised by the United States and most of the international community, has repeatedly claimed that it is committed to ensuring Afghanistan does not become a base for extremist activities. However, no US officials and independent analysts continue to express concerns over the country’s security trajectory since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.