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Iran pushes tens of thousands of Afghans back into hands of Taliban in ‘security' crackdown
Iran pushes tens of thousands of Afghans back into hands of Taliban in ‘security' crackdown

Telegraph

time09-07-2025

  • Politics
  • Telegraph

Iran pushes tens of thousands of Afghans back into hands of Taliban in ‘security' crackdown

Iran is rounding up hundreds of thousands of Afghan immigrants and pushing them over the border into the hands of the Taliban. The victims, who include thousands of women and girls, are being left to fend for themselves at a dusty and inhospitable border crossing where temperatures regularly reach 45 degrees and there is little in the way of food or water. Iran is using espionage allegations as a pretext for the mass arrests and deportations following the recent conflict with Israel. Nearly 450,000 refugees, many of whom arrived in Iran since the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, have been kicked out since the beginning of June and numbers have soared since the war with Israel, UN agencies have said. These deportations have affected more than 114,000 people in just a few days, including the separation of 5,000 children from their parents. Those targeted by the regime also reported suffering widespread abuses including beatings, arbitrary detention. The Telegraph spoke to Afghans in Iran, at the border, and in Afghanistan who said the regime in Tehran is targeting them to divert public attention from its 'humiliation' by Israel in last month's 12-day war. Mahmoud*, an Afghan refugee working as a labourer in Tehran, said he was detained at a bakery, and when he asked why, the officers began beating him – slapping his face and kicking him in the stomach to force him to reveal his address. 'They kept hitting me all the way to my house, calling me a nasty Jew and Israeli,' he said. He said the violence continued once they entered the home. His sons were beaten, and the family was given just 20 minutes to pack. 'They treated us like criminals, you wouldn't even treat an animal like that,' he said. 'They handcuffed everyone, loaded us into a van, and even during the ride, they hurled sexual insults at us. We had documents there and had done nothing wrong.' He then found himself with a group of Afghans in a detention centre in the Iranian capital, where he was beaten again. 'Four of them would come and start beating us with pipes and cables, and four would be waiting, then the other four would come and beat us,' Mahmoud recalled. He added: 'Women and children were screaming, the children were thirsty. They left us under the sun for three days before sending us to the border. Even then the ordeal was far from over. 'Along the way, they took our phones, money, and even women's jewellery,' he said. 'They wanted to torture us to make sure we never return.' Many of those arriving in Islam Qala have never set foot in Afghanistan before, having been born and raised in Iran. But the Islamic Republic insists they should call the war-torn country home and they are now struggling to survive in a border town that even locals describe as 'hell'. The border crossing is lined with makeshift shelters and belongings – torn bags, children's shoes, and photos carried by the wind litter the ground. It is regularly battered by dust storms and heavy winds which push mountains of sand along the road to the nearest city, Herat. Mousa, a 32-year-old truck driver, said he was violently arrested, dragged into a van, and sent to the border without warning. 'I was arrested inside a bank while trying to withdraw money,' he said. 'I showed them my documents, but they didn't care. 'They took me to a camp and then straight to the border. I have nothing with me and no idea how things work here.' He was forced to leave everything behind – his family, his savings, and his car, which was still parked outside the bank. 'They would have taken it all,' he said. 'My children are too young, and my wife can't manage alone. My plan is to get a passport and return – I can't survive here.' Afghanistan – where 90 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line amid an economic collapse – cannot absorb the waves of people arriving, the Taliban government admits. A senior Taliban official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Telegraph that the Afghan government is facing its biggest challenge since capturing Kabul almost four years ago. 'The regime in Tehran has never liked our people. Now they're angry at the West, and Afghans have become their most convenient target,' the official said, adding that the government has been holding multiple cabinet meetings every week to discuss the crisis. 'Each time, the conclusion is the same – we are overwhelmed. Our people are hungry, and they don't even expect a good lifestyle or internet – they just want food. Our neighbours are not treating us well – we pray God will help our nation.' The people of Herat have mobilised in support of the large numbers of newcomers arriving in Islam Qala. Many have taken deportees into their own homes and cooked meals and taken food to the border. Locals are offering free transport from the border to the city, and grassroots groups are covering bus fares to help returnees reach their home towns and villages in Afghanistan. But they cannot help everyone. 'A human catastrophe is unfolding in Islam Qala,' said one local taxi driver. 'Girls as young as ten, beautiful but with faces faded like flowers left too long in the sun – or like fish gasping after being pulled from a river. I cried for them.' In late May the Iranian authorities ordered all undocumented Afghans to leave the country by July 6, a move potentially impacting four million people out of an estimated population of six million. While the millions of Afghans living in Iran had long been made economic scapegoats by the regime, the crackdown has evolved into something far more dangerous following the military confrontation with Israel. Daily deportations surged fifteen-fold during the 12-day war, from 2,000 to over 30,000 people per day, as the Iranian authorities channelled domestic rage toward a vulnerable minority. Raids on homes, workplaces, and construction sites have become common, as have beatings, while deportation is now effectively state policy. Many Afghans are now being arrested on charges of spying for Israel – an accusation many fear enough to flee Iran voluntarily – while xenophobia has soared. 'The regime has turned the whole nation against us,' said Rulloah, an Afghan civil engineering graduate now working as a day labourer in Iran. 'They're taking revenge for their defeat,' he said. 'People have been told not to sell us bread, give us work, or let us into parks and restaurants. Anyone who helps us can be fined or even charged.' He described how police arrested one of his relatives while he was digging a pit for £3 a day. Armed officers pulled him out of the hole, covered in dust, and began beating him. They then took a few small drones from their vehicle, photographed him with them, and took him away. 'He can't even read, but they insisted he was making drones,' said Rulloah. 'An Iranian friend who saw him being arrested called me. Fearing they would come for his family too, I went to his house and took his wife and four children to a relative's home.' In another case, a father of two, whose wife had died of cancer a few months earlier, left his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter locked inside their home in an eastern Iranian city while he went to a nearby shop. He was arrested and taken away, and three days later, neighbours found the children dead, relatives of the man told The Telegraph, adding that they had no information about his current whereabouts or condition. The crackdown has also created opportunities for exploitation of a vulnerable population. Some Iranian landlords have sought to take advantage of the situation by refusing to return rental deposits to Afghan families forced to leave, while many employers have reported their own Afghan workers to the police to get out of paying months of unpaid wages. Some Iranians who owe money to Afghans use the same tactic to escape repayment. Thousands have had their phone sim cards blocked, while goods are also being sold to Afghans at higher prices than to Iranians. In Afghanistan, a lack of resources means there is no end in sight to the crisis. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is seeking $2.42 billion in funding for its 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Afghanistan. But only 22.2 per cent has been secured to date. Because of the large numbers of people arriving, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN's migration agency, has had to drastically reduce the cash assistance it offers to returnee families at the border from $2,000 per family to just $156, said Amy Pope, the IOM's Director General. Critical funding gaps hinder the ability of IOM and partners to provide assistance, reaching only 10 per cent of those in need, she said. 'Families are arriving with nothing but the clothes on their backs, exhausted and in urgent need of food, medical care and support. 'The scale of returns is deeply alarming and demands a stronger and more immediate international response. Afghanistan cannot manage this alone.'

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