Following the increase in harassment of Afghan immigrants in Iran, Ahmad Vahidi, the country’s Minister of Interior, blamed the "enemy's intelligence services" for the violence by the Iranian society against Afghan immigrants.
Vahidi said that after foreign intelligence services’ failure to incite unrest inside Iran, they have been focused on the issue of refugees.
The Iranian officials always hold the other countries’ intelligence services responsible for all anomalies and protests in Iran.
According to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Vahidi on Thursday during a meeting in the administrative council of Qir-o-karzin, Farashband and Firozabad cities of Iran said, "A mysterious movement has started during this period regarding Afghan nationals that aims to create a conflict between Iranian communities and Afghan immigrants. Enemy's espionage agencies are working on this issue after being frustrated in creating unrest."
He made this statement while Iran has forcibly deported thousands of Afghan immigrants from the country in recent months.
Recently, video clips have been sent to Afghanistan International showing scenes of torture and abuse of Afghan immigrants in Iran.
In the pictures that reached Afghanistan International, a group of people in Qazvin province can be seen attacking Afghan immigrants and their homes with stones and sticks.
Iran's Ham-Mihan newspaper published an investigative report on Thursday, stating that despite the Iranian police announcing the arrest of 19 individuals on charges of attacking the homes of Afghan immigrants, anti-Afghan sentiments have not subsided. On social media, extensive campaigns have been launched, calling for the expulsion of Afghan immigrants.
Ham-Mihan newspaper reported that the origins of these campaigns may be traced back to statements made by Iranian officials concerning the number of Afghan immigrants in Iran.
Officials and members of the parliament of Iran have repeatedly announced the presence of millions of Afghan immigrants in Iran and have warned about them in some cases.
Mohammad Sargazi, one of the Iranian MPs, is among those who criticised the presence of Afghan immigrants in Iran several times and asked the authorities of his country to reconsider accepting Afghan immigrants.
In May, he explicitly called for the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Iran and claimed that more than seven million Afghans live in Iran.
After the takeover of power by the Taliban in Afghanistan, many Afghans fled to neighbouring countries, including Iran.
There is no precise statistics available regarding the number of Afghan immigrants in Iran. However, the Minister of Interior of Iran had recently stated that the Afghan immigrant population exceeds five million in the country.
