UNHCR Chief Congratulates Iranian Foreign Minister On Appointment

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Thursday congratulated Hossein Amirabdollahian on his appointment as the foreign minister of Iran, and lauded Tehran's support for Afghan refugees

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2021) UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Thursday congratulated Hossein Amirabdollahian on his appointment as the foreign minister of Iran, and lauded Tehran's support for Afghan refugees.

"In a call with Iran's Foreign Minister #AmirAbdolahian I congratulated him on his appointment, recognizing his country's long standing hospitality towards Afghan refugees," Grandi wrote on Twitter.

The UNHCR chief added that humanitarian support to Iran should be increased in view of the crisis in neighboring Afghanistan.

According to UNHCR, Iran is host to one of the largest and most protracted urban refugee situations globally, and has provided asylum to refugees for more than 40 years.

Citing the government's latest figure released in October 2020, the UN refugee agency said an estimated 800,000 refugees live in Iran, of whom 780,000 are Afghans. Additionally, it is estimated that some 2 million undocumented Afghans and nearly 600,000 Afghan passport-holders live in Iran.

As many Afghans continue to flee following the Taliban (terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) takeover, it is expected that a significant number of refugees will find their way to Iran.