Former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad  has sharply criticized Iran’s ongoing mass deportation of Afghan migrants, describing the expulsions as “brutal” and warning of the severe humanitarian consequences facing Afghanistan.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Khalilzad said he had received alarming firsthand reports from humanitarian workers operating near the Islam Qala border crossing in Herat province, where thousands of Afghans are being forcibly repatriated by Iranian authorities.

Migrants are being pulled off the streets without notice, loaded onto buses, and abandoned at the Afghan border, Khalilzad said.

“When migrants attempt to leave peacefully and with their families, they are told their relatives will be deported separately and that they must find them on their own,” Khalilzad said.

He urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to scale back the pace of deportations and coordinate repatriation efforts with Afghan civil organizations and international aid agencies, including the UN and NGOs, to ensure that returns are conducted in a humane and orderly manner.

The Iranian deportations come amid mounting economic and security pressures inside Iran, where Afghan refugees – many undocumented – have long made up one of the region’s largest displaced populations.

Human rights organizations report that hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been expelled from Iran this year, straining the already fragile humanitarian infrastructure in western Afghanistan.

Khalilzad meanwhile warned Tuesday that many of these deportees have no homes or family networks to return to, having fled years earlier due to war and drought.

Analysts have meanwhile stated that Afghanistan is in no position to absorb returnees at this scale and speed, especially as the country is already contending with a humanitarian crisis.

Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades, many of whom fled conflict during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and, more recently, during the two-decade U.S. war in Afghanistan. While some refugees have legal status, the majority remain undocumented and vulnerable to arrest, detention, and deportation.

In recent years, Iran’s economic crisis – worsened by U.S. sanctions, inflation, and internal political unrest – has fueled anti-migrant sentiment.

Khalilzad’s statement adds to a growing number of international calls urging Iran to reconsider its expulsion policy. Aid groups working on the ground say they are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of returnees, many of whom arrive without documentation, money, or access to shelter or medical care.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) have repeatedly called for greater coordination and for host countries to avoid forced returns unless conditions inside Afghanistan allow for safe reintegration.

With Afghanistan still reeling from economic collapse, international isolation, and the long-term effects of war, observers say the country cannot manage mass returns without coordinated international assistance.