Iran begins construction of border wall along Afghan frontier

The three-year plan aims to enhance border security as Iran responds to regional instability and terrorism risks.

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Iran has commenced the construction of a border wall along its frontier with Afghanistan, in a move aimed at strengthening border security and addressing cross-border threats.

According to foreign news agencies, the Iranian government is taking proactive measures to secure its borders in response to regional instability. The wall is part of a three-year plan to ensure national security and prevent terrorism.

The construction of the wall is seen as a critical step in safeguarding Iran's sovereignty, as Tehran continues to take measures to protect itself from external threats.

The Iranian government’s strategy aims to mitigate risks posed by cross-border activities and strengthen the country’s overall security posture.

Last month, Iran’s military had built a wall along more than 10 kilometres of its eastern border with Afghanistan, the main entry point for immigrants.

“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 900km border with Afghanistan, and 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.

Tehran has not given official figures for the number of Afghan immigrants, but member of parliament Abolfazl Torabi has estimated their number at “between six and seven million”.

The authorities have recently increased pressure on “illegal” refugees, regularly announcing expulsions through the eastern border.

“By blocking the border, we want to control the country’s entries and exits” and “better increase the security of border areas”, General Nemati said.

In September, Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni said Iran would employ other methods including barbed wire and water-filled ditches in addition to the wall to block the border.

On September 13, the spokesman for the parliamentary National Security Committee, Ebrahim Rezaei, said police plan to “expel more than two million illegal citizens in the near future”.

According to the official IRNA news agency, Afghanis represent “more than 90 percent of foreign nationals” in Iran, and “most of them enter the country without identity papers”.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has said his government plans to “repatriate illegal nationals to their country in a respectful manner”.