At least 450,000 refugees, mostly Afghans, deported from Iran in past three months

At least 450,000 undocumented refugees, mostly from Afghanistan, have been deported from Iran in the last three months, Iranian officials say.

Javad Khani, an official at Iran’s National Migration Organization (NMO), was quoted as saying by state-run news agency IRNA on Saturday that the deportation of “irregular migrants” is ongoing.

He said the individuals who have been deported had “illegally entered” the country and their deportation is being carried out in eight provinces based on a “comprehensive plan.”

Khani said Tehran, Sistan and Baluchestan, Razavi Khorasan, Qom, Kerman, Yazd, Fars, and Alborz have the highest number of refugees, most of them from Afghanistan.

These eight provinces, he said, account for 92% of the refugee population in the country, Anadolu News Agency reported.

The official added that one million smart identification cards have so far been issued to documented refugees across the country.

Officials estimate there are four million Afghan refugees in the country – both documented and undocumented.

Khani also said Iran is considering the blocking of border crossings as an option to deal with the entry of illegal migrants.