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

From June 1-28, 233,941 people returned from Iran to Afghanistan, International Organisation for Migration spokesman Avand Azeez Agha told AFP, with 131,912 returns recorded in the week of June 21-28 alone.

“In total, from 1 January to 28 June 2025, 691,049 people have returned, 70 percent of whom were forcibly sent back,” he said.

The number of returnees surged in recent weeks, as Afghans reported increased deportations and pressure to leave ahead of a July 6 deadline announced by Iran in May for Afghans without documents to leave the country.

For several days last week, the number reached 30,000 per day, the IOM said.

Figures have remained around 6-7,000 in recent days, Taliban border authorities and the UN said, with the numbers expected to increase ahead of the deadline.