RASC News Agency: In yet another escalation of its increasingly repressive immigration policies, the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced a ban on the sale of transportation tickets to undocumented migrants from Afghanistan. The new restrictions, which also impact those with legal residency, effectively bar most Afghanistan nationals from traveling to several Iranian provinces. At a press briefing held on Saturday, July 31, Vahid Gholi-Kani, acting director of the Tehran Province Office for Foreign Nationals and Migrants, declared that travel to certain provinces by Afghanistani migrants is now considered illegal. “Transport companies are strictly prohibited from selling tickets or facilitating movement for these individuals,” Gholi-Kani said. “Violators will be held accountable for breaching national regulations.”
According to a directive issued by Iran’s Ministry of Interior, Afghanistan migrants regardless of their legal status are now forbidden from traveling to or residing in the following provinces: East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Lorestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, North Khorasan, Gilan, Mazandaran, Sistan and Baluchestan, Khuzestan, and Hamedan. Gholi-Kani added that deportation of undocumented individuals would only be conducted through coordinated efforts among relevant agencies and would require migrants to first register in designated holding centers. Voluntary returnees, he stressed, must present themselves exclusively at the Khaavaran Repatriation Center.
Meanwhile, Hamidreza Rahmani, director-general of Iran’s Intercity Bus Terminals Organization, issued a stern warning to all transportation firms and contractors. Speaking at the same meeting, he underscored that any employment of undocumented Afghanistan nationals by bus terminals, ticket booths, or subcontractors will be met with legal action. Iran’s law enforcement and border protection units have reportedly intensified surveillance to ensure compliance with the policy. This development is part of a broader, increasingly hostile strategy by the Iranian government targeting vulnerable Afghanistan migrant communities. In recent months, Tehran has prohibited landlords from renting properties to undocumented migrants and has threatened employers with fines and prosecution if they hire Afghanistan nationals without formal documentation.
Human rights organizations have condemned the policy as discriminatory and in violation of international refugee conventions. Yet, in the face of such intensifying repression, the Taliban regime despite its self-proclaimed responsibility for protecting the rights of all Afghanistan citizens has remained conspicuously passive. Instead of engaging in diplomatic negotiations or offering meaningful repatriation support, the Taliban have issued empty declarations and failed to establish safe return mechanisms for their displaced population. According to Taliban sources, nearly two million Afghanistan nationals have been forcibly expelled from Iran over the past three months alone a staggering number that highlights the extent of regional instability and humanitarian neglect. However, many observers argue that the figure is likely underreported or politically manipulated, given the Taliban’s consistent pattern of obfuscating data related to the country’s deteriorating migration crisis.
Analysts warn that without credible leadership in Kabul and effective international pressure on Tehran, the suffering of Afghanistan migrants in Iran will deepen, with little hope for legal remedy or human dignity.
