Iran walls off part of border with Afghanistan

Iran's military has built a wall along more than 10 kilometres (6 miles) of its eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for immigrants, local media reported Monday.

"More than 10 kilometres of walls have been built on the border and another 50 kilometres are ready to be walled off," ISNA news agency said, citing General Nozar Nemati, deputy commander of army ground forces.

Iran shares a more than 900-kilometre (560-mile) border with Afghanistan, and the Islamic republic hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world.

This comprises mostly well-integrated Afghans who arrived over the past 40 years after fleeing conflict in their home country.

The flow of Afghan immigrants has increased since the Taliban took over in August 2021 after US forces withdrew.