‘Thrown out like garbage’: Why Iran has expelled over half a million Afghans in just weeks

Afghan refugees arrive from Iran at Islam Qala border between Afghanistan and Iran, on July 5, 2025.

In a matter of weeks, Iran has expelled over half a million Afghan migrants, sparking global alarm and humanitarian concern. The United Nations and international organisations have described it as one of the largest forced population movements in recent decades. The deportations come in the aftermath of Iran’s conflict with Israel, with Tehran citing national security as the reason for the crackdown.

What do we know?

Iran first announced the mass deportation plan in March, setting a July 6 deadline for undocumented Afghan migrants to leave. Since late June, the expulsions have accelerated sharply.

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an estimated 508,426 Afghans left Iran between June 24 and July 9 alone. Last Friday alone, over 51,000 people were forced to leave. The number stood at 33,956 last Wednesday, and 30,635 the day before.

In June, more than 256,000 people had already crossed back into Afghanistan. Disturbingly, some reports indicate even Afghans with valid visas were not spared.

The returnees are crossing in extreme heat, with temperatures nearing 40°C. At the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat, footage shows hundreds queueing in the sun, including many children and unaccompanied minors.

“There are thousands of people under the sun – and you know how hot Herat can be. It is quite dire. Last week was quite massive,” said Mihyung Park, chief of mission for the UN’s International Organization for Migration, to CNN.

“Last week it was about 400 unaccompanied, separated children – that is a lot,” she added.

Horrific testimonies from migrants

The accounts emerging from deported Afghans point to harassment, extortion, and abuse by Iranian authorities.

“First, they took USD 200 (Rs 17,150) from me. Then they sent me to the detention center where I was kept for two nights and they forced me to pay another $50 (Rs 4,200). In the detention center they wouldn’t give us food or drinking water… they would beat us up, they would abuse us,” said Bashir, an Afghan deportee, to CNN.

Another Afghan migrant told RFE/RL about the fate of his father. “My father was arrested and tortured on charges of espionage. His feet were tied with chains, and he was not given food or water. He was detained by the Iranian police for several days and later deported to Afghanistan. The situation here for Afghan refugees is very bad,” he said, adding that his own visa has now expired, and he lives in fear.

“Even those who have legal status and work live in fear. Most of our friends have been expelled. The situation is very worrying,” another migrant told RFE/RL.

One woman who had lived in Iran for over a decade gave a harrowing account to The Guardian: “I didn’t even get to pack their clothes. They came in the middle of the night. I begged them to give me just two days to collect my things. But they didn’t listen. They threw us out like garbage.”

“From Shiraz to Zahedan [close to the Afghan border], they took everything from us. My bank card had $149 (Rs 12,700). They charged $1 (Rs 85) for a bottle of water, $2 (Rs 170) for a cold sandwich. And if you didn’t have it, your child went without.”

She now faces a bleak future in Afghanistan, with no job prospects, five children, and an elderly mother to care for.

Worsening situation for women and children

For Afghan women, the return is especially harrowing. Afghanistan’s Taliban regime requires women to travel with male guardians, and violations can lead to flogging.

Aid agencies are struggling to respond.

The Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reports many returnees are arriving with “nothing but the clothes on their back”, suffering “exhaustion, hunger, and uncertainty on their journey home”.

“Several people have died during the crossings,” officials say — although exact figures remain unclear.

Why has Iran deported half a million Afghans?

The mass expulsions are tied to claims of espionage and growing paranoia in Tehran following its conflict with Israel earlier this year.

Iranian state media has aired footage of an Afghan national allegedly confessing to spying on behalf of Israel. The man claims he was paid $2,000 to gather information for someone in Germany.

“That person contacted me and said he needed information on certain locations. He asked for some locations, and I provided them. I also received $2,000 from him,” the alleged spy said on air.

This is not an isolated case.

According to Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, “hundreds” of Afghans have been “accused of espionage,” and he expressed concern about “Iran’s media labeling Afghans [and] minority communities as traitors.”

Experts say Iran is using the spying narrative as cover to accelerate long-planned deportations.

“The gloves are off,” said Arafat Jamal, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Kabul, to The New York Times.

“There’s a bit of a frenzy at the moment, no one is going to oppose deportations of Afghans right now so those who wish to deport them have been ramping it up.”

Iran’s government spokesperson, Fatemeh Mohajerani, told reporters: “We’ve always striven to be good hosts, but national security is a priority, and naturally illegal nationals must return,” (July 1).

The crisis is spreading. Pakistan has also launched a programme to deport Afghan refugees. The UNHCR has stated that over 1.2 million Afghans have now been forcibly returned from Iran and Pakistan, warning of a humanitarian crisis brewing inside Afghanistan.