Over 230,000 Afghans left Iran in June ahead of return deadline
More than 230,000 Afghans left Iran in June, most of them deported, as returns surge ahead of a Tehran-set deadline, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday.
From June 1-28, 233,941 people returned from Iran to Afghanistan, International Organization for Migration spokesman Avand Azeez Agha told AFP, with 131,912 returns recorded in the week of June 21-28 alone.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
42 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israel FM says Golan to ‘remain part of' Israel in any Syria peace deal
JERUSALEM: Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday that the occupied Golan Heights 'will remain part of' Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria. 'In any peace agreement, the Golan will remain part of the State of Israel,' Saar told a news conference in Jerusalem, referring to the territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Myths in ruin: Disarming Hezbollah in the wake of Iran's defeat
The regional order has changed – not gradually, but in a single, shattering blow. The war between Israel and Iran has concluded after a series of devastating Israeli and US strikes on Tehran's nuclear and ballistic infrastructure. These operations, which unfolded with the full approval and logistical support of US President Donald Trump, also included a coordinated strike that killed several top IRGC military and nuclear officials. It was a campaign designed not just to disrupt Iran's capabilities, but to shatter the illusion of untouchability surrounding its leadership and proxy network. This was not just a military success – it was a strategic rupture. Nowhere was this shift more palpable than in Lebanon. Hezbollah – the crown jewel in Iran's axis of influence – remained silent. Its much-hyped 'resistance' stood still as its patron was battered. This was not restraint. This was deterioration – operational, political, and symbolic. For years, Hezbollah thrived on mythology: the 'defender of Lebanon,' the 'deterrent to Israel,' the 'voice of the marginalized Shia.' Today, that mythology lies in ruins. The movement failed to act not because it chose peace, but because it could not afford escalation. The group's inability to retaliate during the most direct assault on Iran's sovereignty in recent memory speaks volumes about its declining capacity and fear of internal and regional backlash. This moment is as rare as it is volatile. Lebanon stands before a narrow window in which it can begin dismantling militia dominance, rebuild state legitimacy, and restore sovereignty. The path forward is clear: disarm Hezbollah, restore state institutions, and reclaim Lebanese sovereignty. Half-measures and appeasement have failed. If Lebanon is to survive, the era of armed militias must end. Hezbollah's weapons, veto power, and parallel institutions are not an internal Lebanese problem – they are a regional cancer. And yet, despite the passage of nearly two decades since UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for the disarmament of all non-state actors in Lebanon, Hezbollah continues to argue that its arms are untouchable. That must end. Claims by political allies of Hezbollah that the resolution applies only south of the Litani River are legally baseless and strategically dangerous. There can be no sovereign state with zones of impunity. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), while respected, remain hindered by political interference and Hezbollah infiltration. That, too, must be addressed. Washington's Lebanon policy must pivot – from containment to consequence. The United States must appoint a new ambassador to Beirut with a direct mandate: Enforce 1701, support institutional reform, and back the full disarmament of Hezbollah. Washington must also replace its current special envoy with a senior figure capable of confronting both Hezbollah's regional enablers and its Western protectors –chief among them France, whose ongoing indulgence of Hezbollah undermines any hope of progress. Sanctions must expand – not only against Hezbollah operatives but also their financiers, political allies, and business networks across banking, construction, and telecommunications. Compliance mechanisms must be enforced on institutions that enable or tolerate Hezbollah's armed presence. But pressure alone is not enough. A viable strategy requires strengthening Lebanon's civic immune system. Washington must double down on support for civil society, independent universities, and non-sectarian organizations – particularly in historically neglected regions like the Shia south and Beqaa Valley. Empowering Shia voices that reject militia dominance is essential to dismantling Hezbollah's false claim to community representation. President Joseph Aoun's inaugural promises must now be tested. If he truly stands for sovereignty and reform, let him prove it – by endorsing a disarmament timetable, implementing electoral reforms, and refusing all covert deals with Hezbollah or its allies. The narrative that disarming Hezbollah would spark civil war is fiction – a fear tactic propagated by those who benefit from armed chaos. In truth, what threatens Lebanon is not disarmament, but the continued normalization of militias. Many Lebanese – including Shia – are exhausted by the economic collapse, diplomatic isolation, and perpetual conflict that Hezbollah's weapons have brought. Media is a critical tool. Lebanese and regional platforms must be mobilized to shift public opinion. They must highlight Hezbollah's costs to the nation, amplify Shiia civil society voices demanding reform, and frame disarmament not as a threat, but as a patriotic imperative. Media must call out political obstruction, expose the price of militia dominance, and foster a narrative centered on sovereignty and lawfulness. This is not about punishing Lebanon – it's about rescuing it. The time for half-measures is over. The United States must reinforce its friends, isolate its adversaries, and support the emergence of a Lebanon defined not by militias, but by institutions. Lebanon cannot reclaim its future while armed factions claim its present. No more weapons outside the state. No more excuses. The war between Iran and Israel may be over, but Lebanon's fight – for sovereignty, law, and survival – has only just begun.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House ceasefire talks
Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration. A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals. But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up. 'Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,' said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. 'In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions.' Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said. At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which says Palestinian militants embed among civilians. The militant groups deny this. The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military allegedly ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City. Next steps A day after Trump called to 'Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back', Israel's strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu's, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said. In Israel, Netanyahu's security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza. On Friday, Israel's military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive. Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks. A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms. The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel's single deadliest day. Israel's subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry, has displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80 percent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.
