Tensions surge in Iran amid clashes between local Iranians and Afghan migrants

Violence between Iranians and the country's Afghan community is escalating, with the deaths of two Iranians in a week fueling calls for the expulsion of potentially millions of illegal immigrants, according to Iran International.

Since the incident, Afghans in eastern Tehran have reported an increase in attacks from local residents.

Several expressed their fear and described feeling under siege. "Because I am Afghan, they broke my nose in Bisim Park," one Afghan immigrant said in a video.

The clash last week was sparked by unpaid building fees owed by the victim's brother, with migrants sent to collect the debt.

One Afghan migrant detailed how he and his family now feel trapped in their home, afraid to venture out for work or even basic necessities like groceries. Another individual from District 15 of Tehran, the area where the fight occurred, shared a photograph of a notice warning Afghan migrants to leave the neighbourhood immediately.

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While it is not known who wrote the notice, it explicitly warns Afghan migrants that failure to leave District 15 will result in their forcible expulsion from Iran, exacerbating fears among Iran's largest migrant community who feel increasingly unsafe.

Iranian media report that Afghans have now outnumbered Iranians in some impoverished areas in and around the capital, as well as in major cities and smaller towns. In April 2023, Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) banned Afghans from living in 16 provinces.

Afghans initially came to Iran as refugees in the early 1980s and later as economic migrants. Their numbers rarely exceeded two million until the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Currently, around 780,000 Afghans have official refugee status and are not considered illegal.

The 2016 census recorded over 1.5 million Afghans in Iran. Officials acknowledge that this number has significantly increased since then, with unsubstantiated claims suggesting there may now be as many as 10 million Afghans in the country, with thousands coming across the border each day.

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In recent months, there has been an increase in criticism regarding the presence of Afghan migrants in the country, contributing to a growing atmosphere of hostility.

Two days ago, following the killing of another Iranian man, allegedly by his Afghan restaurant worker, residents of the city of Khor in Fars Province attacked the homes of migrants, setting several houses on fire. Simultaneously, domestic media quoted Tehran police as saying that ten Afghan citizens had been arrested on charges of "street knife fights."

The current tensions are also being influenced by political rhetoric. During campaigning for snap presidential elections in Iran, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a candidate approved by the Guardian Council, made one of his main campaign promises to prevent Afghan refugees from entering Iran and to deport illegal migrants. On April 9, the Ministry of Interior explicitly announced that Afghan refugees without residence permits would not be allowed to stay in Iran and would be expelled.

In March, the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that a police plan had been initiated to round up and repatriate unauthorized immigrants from Tehran Province. In May, it was also announced that a "special patrol" had been established in Shahr-e Rey, south of Tehran, to identify and round up illegal foreign nationals.

The government has largely turned a blind eye to the influx, sparking accusations that Iran may be planning to use Persian-speaking Afghans for political or military purposes.