Iranian police have detained at least 170 Afghan migrants in the southeastern city of Zabol as part of a security operation, Iranian media reported.
Hossein Ali Sanchouli, the police commander of Zabol in Sistan-Baluchestan province, said the migrants were arrested over the past week for lacking valid residency documents, according to state-affiliated outlets.
Iranian authorities refer to undocumented migrants as “illegal foreign nationals”.
Sanchouli said the arrests were carried out under a so-called “social security enhancement plan”, which also led to the detention of 23 suspected thieves, 100 people described as openly addicted to drugs and five alleged small-scale drug dealers.
The arrests come as Iran has stepped up the forced deportation of Afghan migrants following its recent 12-day conflict with Israel. In recent weeks, Iran has deported an average of up to 400 Afghan migrants a day, through both forced and voluntary returns, according to Iranian officials and media reports.
The move has drawn criticism from human rights groups and migrant advocacy organisations, but deportations have continued.
Nader Yarahmadi, head of Iran’s Interior Ministry centre for foreign nationals and migrants, has previously said about 5 million Afghans live in Iran. He said 1.6 million undocumented Afghans have been deported since the launch of a programme targeting unauthorised migrants.
In an interview with ISNA news agency, Yarahmadi said that subtracting those deported from an estimated 6.1 million Afghans who had been in the country would leave around 4.5 million remaining, adding that between 400,000 and 500,000 Afghans move in and out of Iran irregularly.
He also said the re-entry of undocumented migrants into Iran has increased in recent months.