RASC News Agency: In a stark escalation of its crackdown on displaced Afghanistani nationals, the General Directorate for Migration and Foreign Nationals in Iran’s Fars Province has issued a formal directive mandating that all Afghanistani migrants holding official return permits must leave Iranian territory no later than 6 July 2025. Authorities have made clear that failure to comply with this directive will invite intervention from security forces and legal prosecution. The announcement designates this date as the final, irrevocable deadline for the legal departure of return-permit holders, emphasizing that any continued presence in Iran beyond this point will be considered unlawful. The directive not only reinforces Iran’s intensifying deportation campaign but also raises serious humanitarian concerns over the fate of those being returned to a country grappling with systemic collapse under Taliban rule.
Migrants have been urged to take advantage of the remaining weeks of June, to complete the legal formalities associated with their departure. The statement advises them to present themselves at the Shiraz Return Center before the height of summer’s heat, ostensibly to avoid additional hardship. Iranian authorities vaguely referenced unspecified “benefits” for those who comply within the allotted timeframe, though the notice conspicuously avoids elaborating on the nature or scope of these so-called incentives. In an additional directive, families with school-aged children were warned not to delay their departure in hopes of retrieving academic records. Instead, the announcement suggests that relatives or close acquaintances will be permitted to collect school transcripts after the family has exited the country.
Furthermore, individuals holding invalidated or expired census registration documents have been explicitly warned to immediately visit designated immigration offices to obtain updated return documentation. The statement warns that those who fail to do so will be classified as violators and held legally responsible for the consequences of non-compliance. This coercive policy is being enforced against the backdrop of a dramatic surge in forced deportations of Afghanistani migrants from Iran over the past year. Tens of thousands have been expelled and returned to Afghanistan under often inhumane conditions, with repatriations occurring on a daily basis. Multiple international organizations have reported that this large-scale expulsion is significantly worsening Afghanistan’s already fragile economy and humanitarian landscape.
The returnees many of whom fled the Taliban’s oppressive regime in search of safety, dignity, and livelihood are being cast back into an environment where such basic needs remain inaccessible. Under the Taliban’s repressive rule, Afghanistan continues to witness the systematic erosion of human rights, the collapse of public services, and the institutionalized exclusion of women and ethnic minorities. Jobs are scarce, education is under siege, and international aid is increasingly politicized. By forcibly repatriating Afghanistani migrants into this bleak context, Iranian authorities are not merely conducting deportations they are facilitating the re-victimization of vulnerable populations, many of whom have already suffered displacement, persecution, and poverty. These measures, combined with the Taliban’s abject failure to govern in a manner that protects or uplifts its citizenry, have deepened an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe that continues to command global concern.
