UNHCR warns mass returns from Iran threaten stability in Afghanistan

The United Nations Refugee Agency said it is witnessing a sharp surge in Afghan returns from Iran under increasingly difficult conditions, warning that the massive scale of returns risks further destabilizing an already fragile Afghanistan.

Since March 20, when the Iranian government implemented a return deadline, more than 640,000 Afghans have returned across the border — 366,000 of them deported, including registered refugees and others in refugee-like situations, according to UNHCR.

The situation escalated dramatically on June 26, when more than 36,000 people returned in a single day. The number of daily returns has been steadily rising since mid-June.

“I was just at the border between Iran and Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghans are returning under adverse circumstances,” said Arafat Jamal, UNHCR’s Representative in Kabul. “Afghan families are being uprooted once again, arriving with scant belongings, exhausted, hungry, scared about what awaits them in a country many of them have never even set foot in.”

Women and girls, Jamal noted, are especially vulnerable, returning to a country where their rights to education, employment, and freedom of movement are severely restricted under Taliban rule.

Combined with returnees from Pakistan, the total number of Afghans repatriated or forcibly returned in 2025 exceeds 1.2 million, worsening what the UN describes as a humanitarian crisis. More than half the population in Afghanistan is currently dependent on aid.

UNHCR warned that diminishing international support is exacerbating the situation. The agency’s Afghanistan response is currently only 23 percent funded.

“We need to act fast,” Jamal said. “We urgently call on the international community to help us respond — not just with emergency aid, but with longer-term support. Funding for sustainable reintegration is essential to prevent cycles of instability and displacement.”

The agency is calling on governments in the region to ensure that returns are voluntary, safe, and dignified. It warned that pressuring Afghans to return is unsustainable and could fuel broader regional instability.

UNHCR said it is coordinating with UN agencies and humanitarian partners to provide emergency relief as well as longer-term support to help returnees rebuild their lives. However, without substantial and immediate funding, the agency cautioned that it will struggle to meet the scale of the challenge.