By Dashty Jamal

The Iranian government, following the end of the twelve-day war with Israel and the United States, has launched an unprecedented and seemingly limitless campaign of persecution, arrests and executions in a crackdown on the working class, social movement activists, the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, and the Iranian people in general. This time, there was no restraint,  and beyond its previous rhetoric of ‘espionage’ and ‘connection with the enemy,’ the regime has expanded these accusations even further.

Alongside nationalist and ‘patriotic’ propaganda, it has fuelled racism, hatred, incitement and humiliation against Afghan refugees and migrants, using them as scapegoats under the pretext of ‘preventing infiltration by Israel.’ Mass deportation orders have been issued, placing the lives of millions of Afghan refugees and migrants who constitute the most marginalized and exploited layer of Iranian society under severe threat.

Meanwhile, the so-called ‘Israeli infiltrators’ are not the Iranian people or Afghan refugees, but rather elements and officials within Iran’s own security, military, and intelligence apparatus, who, through systemic corruption, have themselves become Israel’s agents while maintaining privileged positions within the regime.

This hostile stance against Afghan refugees has been approved under the “National Migration Organization Draft Law” by the Iranian government and parliament, claiming to protect national security while targeting migrants deemed ‘undocumented.’ This criminal, racist step by the Iranian government has subjected Afghan residents and their families to intense fear and hardship—people who, due to internal wars in the 1980s and the broader war in Afghanistan, came to Iran and built their lives and families there.

Despite lacking even the most basic rights, without access to healthcare, education, legal protection, and forced into hard and dangerous labour with low wages, they have lived under constant threat of arrest and deportation while being treated as second-class citizens. According to United Nations and human rights organisations, warnings have been issued about the catastrophic conditions faced by refugees on the Iran-Afghanistan border. Over 700,000 Afghans had already left Iran before this decision, with 230,000 deported in June alone. On some days, over 40,000 people were turned back at a single border crossing. Amnesty International and UNHCR have repeatedly called on Iranian authorities to end the mistreatment of Afghan migrants and to ensure their access to basic services and legal protections.

The arrest and deportation of Afghan refugees by the Islamic Republic of Iran is a fascist and racist policy rooted in humiliation and discrimination, mirroring the same fascist and racist immigration policies implemented by the Trump administration in the United States. In Iran, too, the economic crisis under the Islamic Republic has been blamed on Afghan refugees, portraying them as burdens rather than individuals in need of protection.

Workers are divided along ethnic and nationalist lines, separated into categories of Iranian and Afghan, Persian, Kurd, Turk and Baluch, fostering division and pitting them against one another. We must not allow the Islamic Republic to succeed in this crime against Afghan refugees. Freedom-seeking and humanitarian workers and the people of Iran are well aware that the regime is attempting to distract them with these racist scapegoating tactics.

At a time when the Islamic Republic faces a deep economic, political, and geopolitical crisis exacerbated by international sanctions, this crisis and the breakdown of social conditions have heavily impacted the working poor and deprived people of Iran, causing poverty, inflation, lack of services, and widespread corruption. Internationally, the regime has suffered defeats, losing its proxy forces in Hamas and Hezbollah, and with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, its influence is in decline.

Now, following the ceasefire in the twelve-day war, the regime seeks to rebuild itself, restore its repressive policies and suppress popular dissent within Iran. Within this framework, it has targeted Afghan refugees as a tool to control society, break unity, sow division among workers, and push nationalist sentiments, presenting Afghan migrants as the source of unemployment and social issues in Iran. This aims to incite conflict between Afghan migrants and Iranian workers, preventing solidarity within the Iranian working class.

The future of Iranian society cannot and will not be written by this corrupt, clerical, criminal ruling elite. The revolutionary movement that emerged in the last three years following the killing of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini with women, youth, workers and students at its forefront can reverse this situation and overthrow the regime, which trembles in fear, paving the way for a free, equal and prosperous future for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, place of birth, or religion, where all can live with dignity and respect.

The time has come once again to intensify international pressure and solidarity among workers, human rights, communist and socialist organisations to force the Islamic Republic of Iran to halt its repression, torture and executions, and to take concrete steps to protect the rights of Afghan refugees, ending deportations and ensuring their access to basic services.

We must act to inform the international community about the racist and fascist policies of the Iranian government, to pressure Iranian authorities to comply with international law in treating Afghan refugees, and to abandon their anti-refugee policies. Afghan refugees in Iran deserve a better life, free from repression and discrimination, with safety and a future without fear.

Dashty Jamal is a member of the Solidarity with the Iranian Workers’ Movement Committee (Chair: John McDonnell MP).

Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eu_echo/11643540013 Photo credit: EU/ECHO Pierre Prakash. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed