The international organization Save the Children has recently announced that more than 80,000 Afghan children returned from Iran to Afghanistan during the month of June this year.
In a published report, the organization stated that this number has doubled compared to the previous month, placing Afghanistan’s service infrastructure on the brink of collapse.
Save the Children emphasized that 6,700 of these children were unaccompanied, and about 39% of them were forcibly returned from Iran.
The report adds that following the announcement of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel on June 25 (5th of Saratan), more than 36,000 people entered Afghanistan from Iran in a single day.
The report also quotes Samira Sidrahman, Advocacy Manager at Save the Children, as saying: “Many families arrive with only what they can carry. They are tired, frightened, and worried.”
She further added: “The international community must not turn a blind eye to this situation. The time has come to take serious steps to save Afghan children and their families.”
The report mentions that in response to the situation, two child-friendly support centers have been established in Herat to provide psychosocial services and safe play spaces for children.
Recently, Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s Regional Director for South Asia, also stated that thousands of children are entering Afghanistan daily through Islam Qala and that they are in urgent need of assistance.
This comes as just a few days ago, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) warned that the forced deportation of Afghan migrants would destabilize the region and beyond.
The agency wrote that over 1.2 million Afghan citizens were forced to return from Iran and Pakistan in 2025, further exacerbating the ongoing humanitarian crisis inside Afghanistan.
