Iran’s escalating mass deportations of Afghan refugees are putting thousands of women and girls at serious risk of Taliban persecution, Amnesty International said Thursday, calling on Tehran to halt what it called flagrant violations of international law.
Iran has launched a sweeping crackdown on Afghan migrants in the wake of a temporary ceasefire with Israel, targeting them for deportation and alleged security threats, according to officials and media reports.
Once bitter enemies, Shi’ite Islamic Republic of Iran and Sunni Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are now cooperating against a shared foe, stepping up intelligence coordination to counter Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group active along the Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran border.
Taliban fighters are systematically using sexual violence, including rape, against captive women in Afghanistan to punish them for their societal roles and intimidate women into submission, according to accounts shared with Afghanistan International.
Iran's police chief said the new Iranian year starting on Friday will mark a significant push towards sealing the country's borders and intensifying the fight against crime.
In a move signaling renewed engagement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Kabul on Sunday for high-level talks with the Taliban leadership.
The Islamic Republic of Iran and Taliban-run Afghanistan - two pariah powers squeezed by the United States and weary from confronting it – have made unlikely common cause.
Afghanistan International, a news television channel, has issued a strong condemnation of the Taliban's satellite jamming activities, describing them as a direct assault on press freedom and the public's right to access information.
Iran's Parliament has proposed reducing the foreign national population by 10 percent annually, amid growing public controversy over the increasing Afghan influx.
Concerns are mounting in Iran over the increasing number of Afghan migrants, particularly since 2023, when reports emerged that the interior minister and IRGC general Ahmad Vahidi, was encouraging the influx of Afghans into the country.
A 15-year-old Afghan has sustained severe injuries including a broken neck after Iranian police knelt on his neck amid escalating efforts to expel a growing number of Afghan immigrants.
The Taliban have declared a senior Iranian diplomat "persona non grata", giving him only a few hours to leave Afghanistan, informed sources told Afghanistan International.
The Deputy Governor of Tehran has warned about the "threatening" presence of undocumented Afghan immigrants in the province, likening their removal to going to war.
The Taliban's decision to ban London-based channel Afghanistan International has sparked condemnation from international journalism watchdogs and rights groups.
In a move to regulate the employment of foreign nationals, Iran has introduced a daily fine of 12 million rials (approximately 20 USD) for employers hiring unauthorized foreign workers.
Iran announced on Saturday that the government will provide the armed forces with three billion euros to “quickly start sealing the borders” against a backdrop of recent clashes with Taliban forces.
The Taliban has arrested five Iranian border guards in Afghan territory and handed them over to the its intelligence department.
Last year, Iran deported over 20,000 Afghan children, many of whom have been sent back unaccompanied and without any guardians waiting for them, Afghan authorities stated.
Iran’s ministry of interior has issued a directive for all illegal Afghan immigrants to leave or face deportation.
Iranian police arrested the relatives of a commander of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan accusing them of being “senior members of ISIS" in the city of Karaj near Tehran.
Iran’s Defense Minister claims that Iran is boosting the security on eastern borders with the deployment of advanced cameras, helicopters, and drones amid security threats from terror group ISIS.
Amid a deteriorating aviation fleet and a bleak outlook for acquiring modern aircraft, Iran has purchased a 29-year-old plane from the Taliban, Iranian daily Aftab-e Yazd has reported.