The Iranian government has launched a sweeping crackdown on Afghan migrants following the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel. Reports from several cities indicate mass arrests, home and workplace raids, and widespread phone confiscations targeting Afghan nationals.
According to sources speaking with Afghan media, police in both uniform and plainclothes have increased surveillance on Afghan residents. This wave of inspections comes after Iran arrested 700 of its own citizens on charges of espionage and ties with Israel.
Authorities have also detained at least five Afghan migrants on similar allegations. Iranian state-controlled television aired confessions from some of these Afghan refugees, claiming collaboration with Israel. However, it remains unclear under what conditions these statements were made.
In the past few days, law enforcement agents have raided the homes and workplaces of Afghan migrants. During these operations, they confiscated both smartphones and basic mobile phones. Migrants reported that officers gave them slips instead of formal reasons, saying they could retrieve their devices weeks later from local police stations.
One Afghan resident in Tehran said that on 26 June, police at a metro station seized his phone and those of others. Another witness said security personnel stormed into their workplace and took phones from all Afghan nationals, even those with valid residency documents.
“Officers did not check papers. They just took the phones of all Afghans and said to collect them after a month,” the person said.
Metro stations and other public spaces are now under heavy surveillance. Afghan migrants say they face increased questioning and identity checks. So far, Iranian authorities have not offered any public explanation for seizing the phones or targeting Afghan refugees.
Along with phone seizures, arrests and deportations have surged. A source in Tehran confirmed that police checkpoints have multiplied across the city. Afghan nationals—documented and undocumented—are being detained at these stops.
Tehran’s provincial governor, Mohammad Sadegh Motamedian, recently stated that the arrest and deportation rate of Afghan migrants has tripled or even quadrupled. Local Taliban officials also confirmed this spike.
Ahmadullah Muttaqi, who heads the Taliban’s information and culture department in Herat, revealed that over 30,000 Afghan migrants crossed back into Herat from Iran on 25 June alone.
Human rights observers say displaced Afghans now live in fear. Many refuse to leave home, go to work, or access public services. The threat of arrest, deportation, or harassment hangs over them constantly.