Some 50,000 Illegal Immigrants Captured by Iran’s Army
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian Army has caught nearly 50,000 illegal foreign immigrants in southeastern border areas, a commander said.
Speaking to Tasnim, the commander of the Iranian Army’s southeastern regional base said his forces assist the Border Police in countering illegal immigration along the national boundaries, although they are not obligated to do so.
General Amir Gholamalian said the Army’s southeastern regional base troops, in their ambush operations across the region, have arrested around 49,800 illegal foreign immigrants and handed them over to the Border Police.
The commander noted that the arrested immigrants are deported to their own countries after arrangements with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In comments in October 2023, Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the undocumented Afghan immigrants should be expelled from Iran, criticizing the Taliban’s disregard for the problem that has been inflicted on Iran.
In June 2022, the deputy interior minister for security and law enforcement estimated that there were around 4.5 million documented and illegal Afghans in Iran.
The takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in 2021 triggered a huge influx of Afghans, many of whom have flocked to Iran, with which Afghanistan has 921 km of common land border.