Refugees in Iran
Refugees in Iran
In 2026, UNHCR estimates that around 1,65 million forcibly displaced people of different documentation statuses reside in Iran, including some 770,000 refugees with Amayesh (758,000 Afghans) and Hoviat cards (12,000 Iraqis). Notably, 99% of these populations reside in urban areas, with the remaining 1% living in 20 government-run refugee settlements.
Iran is a signatory to the 1951 Convention and its 1967 Protocol since July 1976, yet it reserved Articles 17, 23, 24, and 26 of the 1951 Refugee Convention, covering wageearning employment, public relief, labour legislation and social security, and freedom of movement, respectively. However, the domestic legislation and ad hoc government initiatives have resulted in a variety of documentation statuses for forcibly displaced persons, leading to differing levels of protection and access to rights.
Since 2012, in the framework of the Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees (SSAR), UNHCR has collaborated closely with the Government of Iran, national and international NGOs, and UN agencies to seek solutions and provide a range of services to the forcibly displaced population. As of 2026, UNHCR leads the Country Refugee Response Plan (CRRP) to ensure coordinated and complementary assistance among humanitarian partners. Since September 2025, UNHCR has also led the Local Core Group of the SSAR in the country with the Netherlands, current Chair until April 2026, and Switzerland, current Vice Chair and next Chair as of April 2026.
UNHCR continues to support the Government in providing refugees access to education, health, and livelihoods. In addition, UNHCR provides individual protection interventions to the most vulnerable individuals, such as legal and psychosocial counselling, Cash-Based Interventions (CBI), Universal Public Health Insurance (UPHI) for individuals with serious medical conditions, DAFI scholarships for students in tertiary education, procurement of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, vocational training, and support to income-generating activities. UNHCR maintains regular contact with the persons we serve through various channels of Communication with Communities as part of Accountability to Affected People and addresses their specific protection risks. Return and resettlement remain crucial solutions for refugees in Iran, along with emerging complementary legal pathways.
Despite these efforts, concerns persist over complex protection risks and the increasing needs and vulnerabilities of refugees, compounded by a challenging economic situation that requires robust international responsibility sharing, and more recently by the war.