Iran Police chief gives illegal migrants deadline to leave country

Undocumented migrants in Iran, mostly from neighboring Afghanistan, have until the end of the current year on the Persian calendar, March 20, to leave the country, the Iranian police chief said on Wednesday.

Brigadier General Ahmadreza Radan said Iran is seriously pursuing the policy of returning illegal migrants to their own countries.

The Iranian police chief made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony on the Arbaeen walk for pilgrims destined for the holy shrine of the third Shia imam, Hussain ibn Ali, in the Iraqi city of Karbala.

General Radan said Iran does not issue permits for foreigners to enter Iraq through Iranian border crossings for the million-man Arbaeen walk.

Unofficial estimates put the number of unauthorized Afghan immigrants in Iran at over 8 million. They have chosen Iran as a refuge for decades to escape conflicts, poverty, and the Taliban rule in their country.

The influx of refugees into Iran, especially after the 2021 takeover of the Taliban, has raised security and social alarms, with many Iranians demanding the expulsion of the Afghan migrants on social media.

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