Nearly 450,000 Afghans have returned from Iran since early June, according to the United Nations refugee agency, after Tehran imposed a July 6 deadline for undocumented migrants and refugees to leave the country.

The surge compounds Afghanistan’s existing challenges as the impoverished nation struggles to integrate waves of returnees from Pakistan and Iran since 2023, amid one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises after decades of conflict.

The UNHCR reports that more than 1.4 million people have “returned or been forced to return to Afghanistan” this year alone. Iran’s late May directive potentially affects four million undocumented Afghans among the approximately six million Afghan residents claimed by Tehran.

Border crossings increased dramatically from mid-June, with some days seeing approximately 40,000 people entering Afghanistan. Between June 1 and July 5, 449,218 Afghans returned from Iran, bringing the 2024 total to 906,326, according to an International Organization for Migration spokesman.

Many returnees report experiencing pressure from authorities, arrests, deportations, and financial losses due to hasty departures. The crisis response has been hampered by significant cuts in foreign aid, prompting calls for increased funding from the UN, international NGOs, and Taliban officials.

The UN has cautioned that this mass return could further destabilise Afghanistan, which already faces entrenched poverty, unemployment, and climate change effects. “Forcing or pressuring Afghans to return risks further instability in the region, and onward movement towards Europe,” the UNHCR said on Friday.

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While Taliban officials advocate for a “dignified” return process, Iranian media frequently reports mass arrests of “illegal” Afghans. Iran’s deputy interior minister, Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, acknowledged that while undocumented Afghans in the country were “respected neighbours and brothers in faith”, Iran’s “capacities also have limits”. He indicated the return process “will be implemented gradually”.

Many Afghans had migrated to Iran for employment, sending vital remittances to families in Afghanistan. Returnee Ahmad Mohammadi told the AFP news agency at a reception centre in Herat province, “If I can find a job here that covers our daily expenses, I’ll stay here. But if that’s not possible, we’ll be forced to go to Iran again, or Pakistan, or some other country.”