More than 230,000 Afghans left Iran in June, most of them deported, as returns surge ahead of a deadline set by Tehran, the United Nations migration agency said on Monday.

The number of returns from Iran rose dramatically in recent weeks. Afghans have reported increased deportations ahead of the July 6 deadline announced by Iran for undocumented Afghans to leave the country.

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.

Since January, "691,049 people have returned, 70 percent of whom were forcibly sent back", he added.

For several days last week, the number reached 30,000 per day, the IOM said, with numbers expected to increase ahead of........

© Al Monitor