Iranian authorities have expelled hundreds of thousands of Afghan citizens in recent weeks, citing alleged involvement in espionage activities on behalf of Israel, according to AFP and Reuters reports.
The unusual decision comes amid Operation Rising Lion and claims that numerous Afghans collaborated with Israel. A deadline was set for the departure of all "illegal residents" by July 6.
An Iranian official claimed that “it became evident that some individuals involved in security incidents were of Afghan origin,” though no evidence was presented. In reality, many of those expelled held valid work permits but were either detained or forcibly removed from the country.
As part of its response, Iran accelerated the pace of expulsions to tens of thousands of people per day—since early June, more than 300,000 individuals have already crossed the border into Afghanistan. The deportations, which include women and children, have taken place on a massive scale.
The Tehran regime is reportedly leveraging the crisis for domestic purposes: to distract from inflation and ongoing public protests, or as a measure against Sunni influence in the Shiite-majority state. Afghanistan, for its part, has been forced to absorb the deportees under dire conditions and without adequate social infrastructure.