Iran Expels Over One Million Afghans as Refugee Crisis Escalates

Despite border chaos and mass deportations, Afghan entrepreneurs are offering refugees a chance to rebuild through work, not handouts

HERAT, Afghanistan - The searing heat and dust storms of Islam Qala—just 72 miles west of Herat—offer little mercy. When summer temperatures routinely breach 100°F, refugees returning from Iran face these harsh conditions under full exposure. Among them is 37-year-old artist Jalil Shafee from Herat province, who fled Afghanistan in pursuit of opportunity and self-expression. A few days after the brief 12-day war between Israel and Iran, he received an ultimatum from Iranian authorities: depart voluntarily or face forced deportation.

Since the onset of the conflict, more than one million Afghans have been deported from Iran. Hundreds of thousands opted for self-deportation after June notices informed undocumented Afghans that they were no longer welcome. Estimates place between two million Afghans—many refugees and many undocumented—living in Iran, a migration driven by more than five decades of conflict and systemic instability in Afghanistan.

Jalil once taught art at a private school in Herat after graduating from Herat University. He also founded a gallery and participated in exhibitions organized by the Red Cross and an Indian cultural institution, winning awards. "After four years of study, I went to teach art at a private school in Herat," he said. "I used to paint, sketch, and even sculpt statues and present them at a gallery that I later founded before closing it again once the Taliban came to power." After the Taliban takeover, his sculptures and paintings were destroyed and labeled blasphemous. Forced to close his gallery and lose his teaching position, Jalil joined the exodus to Iran, hoping to continue his art and support his family. “I didn’t have a passport and couldn’t afford one,” he recalled. “The Taliban took my art and destroyed it. I couldn’t practice art nor find a job. I had to leave.”

In Iran, everyday exploitation and labor abuse shattered his plans to immigrate further, and when his youngest son fell ill, the prospect of continuing the journey to Europe became impossible. The Islamic Republic regime has long refused to grant Afghan residents equal rights and protections, further marginalizing them. According to The Diplomat, the systematic discrimination against Afghans, dating back to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has fostered a widespread negative perception often unmoored from fact. "People in Iran have systematically abused the Afghans, most of whom were born and raised in that country and have never even been to Afghanistan before."

Following the 12-day confrontation with Israel, Iranian authorities accused Afghan residents of espionage without substantiation. Notices followed, demanding that millions of Afghan residents, legal and undocumented alike, leave voluntarily or face forced eviction. More than 1.2 million have already been removed, with widespread reports of mistreatment and abuse, according to Amnesty International.

Jalil was among those compelled to finance an exit to Mashhad, near the Afghan border. "They told us to either go willingly or we would be forced to kick you out and ban you from entering Iran for up to five years," he recalled. He remembers two deaths at the border—a newborn and an elderly man—amid chaos, dehydration, and prolonged lines for essentials. "There was mass confusion, and the lines for food, water, and aid were painfully long," he told Middle East Uncovered. He also described how the Taliban had failed to contain the situation on the Afghan side of the border.

The Islamic Republic’s actions reflect a disregard for fundamental human rights and dignity, especially at a moment when many returnees—women and children among them—face the rigid authoritarianism of the Taliban, which enforces a total ban on women’s education and employment. Reports suggest that over half a million Afghans were expelled from Iran in just the past three weeks, with many more expected to follow. Other neighboring countries of Afghanistan have also ramped up programs to deport Afghans, including Pakistan and Tajikistan, worsening an already escalating crisis.

The systemic marginalization of Afghans by the Islamic Republic, alongside the Taliban’s suffocating repression, has created a region-wide crisis. Both states are governed by hardline theocracies: Shia clerics in Iran and Taliban leaders in Afghanistan. Without relief, Afghanistan’s economy remains crippled, its political landscape unstable, and its diverse population trapped in a humanitarian emergency.

Yet despite it all, Afghan civil society is rising to the occasion, helping in any way they can. Local aid networks, from wealthy businesspeople to grassroots activists, are mobilizing to support returnees, even if their reach is limited to just 10 percent of those in need.

In Herat, business leaders have launched a campaign to hire refugees returning from Iran, harnessing their experience in infrastructure, industry, and manufacturing. "Humanitarian aid, despite its critical need at the moment, is unfortunately temporary and not a sustainable and long-term solution," said Behnaz Saljoqi, chairwoman of the region’s women’s commerce chamber. Her initiative that operates across five provinces has already placed 210 returnees in jobs and is training 375 women in industry skills. Herat, with over 900 women-led registered businesses in the past three years, now stands out nationally. Kabul, by contrast, has only 180.

One beneficiary is Naiko Artistic Gallery, where founder Somaya Solaimankhil employs dozens of artisans specializing in traditional crafts, calligraphy, painting, and woodworking. "These refugees with exceptional talents are welcomed, provided training, and employed to work in the gallery," she said, adding that they "received hundreds of requests when we joined the campaign." The gallery has trained about 100 artists in groups and connected many with local schools in need of art instructors. "Our initiative has been welcomed warmly in Herat," she added, emphasizing the importance of other businesses joining the effort. Solaimankhil described the border conditions as "not pleasant" with "mass confusion and long lines as people waited for humanitarian aid and supplies."

The Islamic Republic’s policy toward Afghan refugees shows no sign of change. Yet many Afghans inside and outside Afghanistan are pooling resources to sustain those caught between the two authoritarian regimes. The Islamic Republic has weaponized its sectarian network, and the Taliban enforces gender apartheid and political suppression. Both regimes show little regard for basic dignity. This crisis traces back decades of geopolitical intervention, displacement, and failed governance.

Iran’s "Woman, Life, Freedom" protest movement ignited one of modern Iran’s most courageous social uprisings. In Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, the stakes are even higher. Women are denied fundamental freedoms, and a majority of refugees have no safe refuge.

Through immense suffering, Afghan communities are stepping up. From business donors to volunteers and retired professionals, their efforts are limited in scale but significant in impact. And in a region where cruelty is state policy, that fraction matters. Naiko’s model, centered on employment, training, and self-reliance, offers a practical alternative to short-term aid. It’s not a solution to the broader crisis, but it’s a start. And in a context defined by exclusion and displacement, even modest efforts to restore economic agency deserve our attention.

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