Iranian police have arrested a man accused of the brutal murder of an 18-year-old Afghan worker, whose body was discovered buried in a garden in Damavand, northeast of Tehran.

The killing has sparked widespread outrage on social media and renewed concerns over violence targeting Afghan migrants in Iran.

According to Damavand police commander Colonel Morteza Maleki, the victim, Amirtaha Rezaei, left home on July 2 to operate an excavator as part of his daily work. After several days of no contact, his family reported him missing.

A police investigation led to the discovery of his body, which had been buried in a garden in the Absard area.

“Following the missing person report, the matter was investigated. After police investigations led to the discovery of the buried body, the suspect was immediately identified and arrested. The suspect confessed to the murder during interrogation,” Maleki told local media.

Authorities say the suspect, an Iranian man from outside the Absard district, claimed the motive was rooted in “financial and work disputes.” However, BBC Persian quoted an informed source close to the family who denied this, saying Rezaei had no such conflicts and had simply gone to the garden for routine excavator work.

According to police, the suspect used a bladed weapon to carry out the killing before burying the body. Local witnesses reported that Rezaei’s hands were bound and his head had been severed, with part of the body protruding from the soil when it was discovered.

An alleged accomplice, who initially fled the scene, was arrested within 24 hours in a western province, Maleki confirmed, noting that the arrest was carried out “with judicial coordination.”

A community in fear

The gruesome murder has ignited anger across Afghan communities both inside Iran and abroad. Activists and social media users condemned what they view as a rising tide of violence and discrimination against Afghan refugees in Iran.

“This was not just a murder. It reflects the dangerous climate Afghan migrants are living in,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter), as #JusticeForAmirtaha trended regionally.

The murder comes against the backdrop of an aggressive campaign by Iranian authorities to deport undocumented Afghans. According to UN agencies, over 500,000 Afghan refugees have been deported from Iran since June 24, with more than 5,000 children reportedly separated from their parents during the process.

While Afghan nationals in Iran have long faced social and legal discrimination, the crackdown has intensified dramatically since the recent conflict between Iran and Israel. During the 12-day war, deportations surged from an estimated 2,000 per day to over 30,000, as Iranian authorities redirected public anger toward the vulnerable Afghan community.

Human rights groups have urged Tehran to investigate the murder transparently and protect the rights of Afghan workers, many of whom fill low-paid but essential jobs across Iran.