
A million more Afghans could be sent back from Iran, Red Cross warns
Sami Fakhouri, Head of Delegation for Afghanistan at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said he witnessed busloads of people returning to a border crossing at the Islam Qala border in Herat province in recent days.
'(We) are anticipating that an additional one million people, possibly more, may return from Iran to Afghanistan by the end of this year,' he told reporters at a Geneva press briefing, voicing concern about their futures with many having left their home country years ago and were now homeless.
'The majority didn't have a say in coming back. They were put on buses and driven to the border,' he said.
Afghanistan is already battling a humanitarian crisis and aid groups worry that the new arrivals from Iran – on top of hundreds of thousands pressured to return from Pakistan – risks further destabilizing the country.
Fakhouri said the IFRC appeal for 25 million Swiss francs ($31.40 million) to help returning Afghans at the border and in transit camps is only 10 percent funded, voicing concerns about whether it could maintain support for people.
Babar Baloch, a spokesperson at the UN refugee agency, said tens of thousands were arriving from Iran daily with over 50,000 crossing on July 4.
He also voiced concerns about family separations.
'The psychological scars are going to stay with Afghans who have been made to come back to the country in this way,' he said at the same press briefing.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Asharq Al-Awsat
2 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Iran Says It Warned US Destroyer to Move Away from Waters Monitored by Tehran
Iran warned a US destroyer on Wednesday to change course after it approached waters being monitored by the country, leading the US ship to turn away, Iranian state media reported. The US Navy and U.S. Central Command, which overseas US forces in the Middle East, had no immediate comment on the report. The reported incident follows US strikes last month on Iranian nuclear facilities that Washington says were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is for purely civilian purposes. "US destroyer 'Fitzgerald' attempted to approach waters under Iran's monitoring in a provocative move", Iranian state TV said, adding that a Navy helicopter quickly approached the destroyer and issued a stern warning to leave the area. The US destroyer threatened the Iranian helicopter, but moved out of the area upon continued warning, state TV said. Iranian state media identified the vessel in question as "DDG Fitzgerald", adding the Iranian Army contacted the vessel asserting the helicopter was under its protection and asking the ship to change it direction to the south.


Arab News
4 hours ago
- Arab News
Pacific nation ponders taking asylum seekers from US
Whipps' office told AFP on Wednesday the proposal was still under consideration by the nation's powerful Council of Chiefs'A meeting was held last week. So far no decision has come out of that meeting,' a spokesman saidSYDNEY: The United States is looking to send asylum seekers to the sparsely populated volcanic isles of Palau, the small South Pacific nation said about 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the Philippines, tropical Palau has long been one of the United States' closest allies in the President Surangel Whipps Jr last week received a request from Washington to accept 'third-country nationals seeking asylum in the United States,' his office said in a office told AFP on Wednesday the proposal was still under consideration by the nation's powerful Council of Chiefs, an advisory body of traditional leaders.'A meeting was held last week. So far no decision has come out of that meeting,' a spokesman President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to expel millions of undocumented migrants, saying the country had been 'inundated' by unwanted signed an executive order in January — titled 'Protecting the American People Against Invasion' — that suspended admissions for countless refugees seeking haven in the United details of the proposed deal between Palau and the United States were not immediately clear, such as how many asylum seekers it would cover, or what Palau may get in return.'Based on the most recent draft agreement, Palau would have full discretion to decide whether or not to accept any individuals, and all actions would be consistent with our constitution and laws,' the Palau president's office said in a Ambassador Joel Ehrendreich was present at a meeting of senior officials to discuss the request, according to photos published last week by the Palau president's United States has reportedly considered dispatching asylum seekers to the likes of El Salvador, Libya and some 20,000 people spread across hundreds of volcanic isles and coral atolls, Palau is by population one of the smallest countries in the Pacific microstate could find it difficult to deny Washington's gained independence in 1994 but allows the US military to use its territory under a longstanding 'Compact of Free Association' return, the United States gives Palau hundreds of millions of dollars in budgetary support and assumes responsibility for its national United States Embassy in Palau did not respond to an AFP request for coming to power in 2021, Whipps has overseen the expansion of US military interests in has included the ongoing construction of a long-range US radar outpost, a crucial early warning system as China ramps up military manuevers in the Taiwan is one of the few remaining countries to recognize Taiwan's claim to statehood.

Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Israel, Ukraine announce ‘dialogue' on countering Iran
Israel and Ukraine said Wednesday they had agreed to start talks on countering the 'threat' posed by Iran, in a sign of deepening ties between the two countries. Both see Iran, a close ally of Russia, as a malign actor on the world stage. Israel has long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, an allegation Tehran denies, while Ukraine is regularly attacked from Russia by Iranian-designed drones. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described Iran as an 'existential threat' to global security during a joint press conference in Kyiv with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar – the most senior Israeli official to visit Ukraine since 2023. 'Our countries face common security challenges. Today we have decided to launch a separate dialogue on the Iranian threat,' Sybiha said. Saar said any effort to curb Tehran's access to weapons and technology contributed to the security of Europe and Ukraine. 'I thank President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government for its position that Iran must not have nuclear weapons,' he said. Ukraine has expressed frustration at Israel's neutral stance on the Russian invasion, but the two share common interests. Kyiv has long accused Tehran of supplying military hardware to Moscow. Last month, Israel launched a surprise bombing campaign against Iran with the stated aim of destroying military and nuclear sites, an action that Kyiv supported.