Interior minister: Iran can take no more Afghan refugees

The Iranian interior minister says Iran is overwhelmed with the influx of Afghan refugees who are a burden on the country’s already-strained resources and sanctions-hit economy.

Ahmad Vahidi said on Tuesday, “We really do not have the capacity to host more (Afghan refugees) than this as our country’s capacity is full.”

The interior minister said Iran has informed officials in Afghanistan it cannot accept more refugees from its eastern neighbor.

Following in the footsteps of Pakistan, Iran is paving the ground for the reparation of illegal and undocumented Afghan refugees, Vahidi noted.

Iran has been hosting over 5 million Afghans for decades throughout the country’s tumultuous history.

Millions of Afghans have chosen Iran as their shelter during the war with the Soviet forces in 1979, the emergence of the Taliban in 1994, the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and most recently the second Taliban takeover in 2021.

Meanwhile, Iranian media are abuzz with warnings of radicalization of Taliban sympathizers, disguised as refugees, which could imperil the security in the country.

This has led to the public outcry regarding the security burden on the country.

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