The media trumpets rapes and murders committed by refugees, as well as diseases , which were carried by them. The severe crisis and high prices make Iranians see migrants from Afghanistan as enemies.
"In the next six months, nearly two million foreigners without residence permits will have to leave Iran," said the head of Iran's national police, Ahmad-Reza Radan. The security authorities and the Ministry of the Interior to expel a "significant number of illegal aliens" in the long term, it became clear from his words.
When the Iranian authorities talk about illegal immigrants, they mainly mean those from Afghanistan. The two neighboring countries have a common border over 900 km long, part of which passes through impenetrable and high mountains. For more than 40 years, Afghans have fled to Iran from civil war, poverty, and now the Taliban.
„Afghans are cultured people, but our country cannot accept so many migrants,” said the Minister of the Interior of Iran in an interview with the state television. He also confirmed that illegal migrants are a priority. In May 2024, the Ministry of Interior in Tehran announced that 1.3 million illegal immigrants had been deported to Afghanistan within 12 months.
UN: Over four million Afghans in Iran
According to the UN Refugee Agency, almost 4.5 million Afghans live in Iran. However, there are reports in the Iranian media that their actual number may be much higher – some estimates mention 6 million, others as high as 8 million. Many of them do not reside legally - they do not register for fear of extradition. Many of them dream of a better life in Europe and want to continue their journey.
Due to the similarity of the languages of the Afghans, it is easier for them – they can remain invisible in society and with the help of other illegal migrants stay economically above water. They are cheap labor in agriculture or construction, where many Iranians do not want to work.
There has been a heated debate for months about the large number of Afghan refugees in Iran. Many Iranians believe that the Afghans are taking away their jobs and burdening the country's social system. The media trumpets almost daily how crime has increased – report rapes or murders by refugees, that there are already shortages of basic foodstuffs such as flour or eggs, or that the health system is overwhelmed – in part because of many cases of infectious diseases allegedly imported by illegal migrants. Petitions calling for the deportation of the Afghan refugees are circulating on the Internet, as well as numerous comments in which the language of hate abounds.
Anyone who stands up for Afghans becomes a target
Anyone who speaks out against the general sentiment or reminds of the rights of migrants and the precarious living conditions of these people quickly becomes the target of malicious comments themselves. Journalist Jila Baniaghub has experienced it personally. “I constantly receive hateful messages and even death threats. They want to make me shut up”, she says in an interview with Deutsche Welle.
Baniaghub is one of a total of 540 journalists, lawyers, artists, doctors and activists who last year signed a petition in solidarity with Afghan migrants. They denounced the country's organized hate campaign against migrants and warned of the unpredictable consequences of such populist actions.
„For a long time, the country has been plagued by a severe economic crisis and chronic mismanagement. Since last year, authorities have blamed illegal migrants for some of the problems, such as high food prices. Pressure to deport migrants en masse is mounting. But the authorities are unlikely to provide reliable security at the border, and many of the migrants will be turned back. "You cannot solve the problem with hatred and agitation," Jila Baniaghub is convinced.
Protests and attacks
In recent months, there have been mass protests in various cities of the country and even indiscriminate attacks against Afghan migrants. "The atmosphere is heated," says Nazar Mohamed Nazari in an interview with DV. The young man hoped for a better life in Iran.
„I decided to return to Afghanistan. A few months ago, a conflict broke out between Iranians and Afghans after a wedding and an Iranian was killed. Then began indiscriminate attacks on Afghans in Iran. "I don't feel safe anymore," he says.
In addition to attacks, migrants risk arrest and deportation to camps at any time. According to media reports, even Afghans who were born in Iran, have Iranian IDs and never lived in Afghanistan have been deported in recent weeks.
Iran is building a wall along the border with Afghanistan - in the northeastern part of the country, where the border is often crossed illegally. The project calls for the construction of a concrete fence 74 kilometers long and four meters high with barbed wire. Many doubt that this wall will actually stop illegal migrants, since it is known that the two countries share a common border that is almost a thousand kilometers long.< /p>