Iran closes border to Afghans fleeing Taliban
It comes days after Qasemi said Iran was setting up refugee camps along its Afghan border, in anticipation of an influx of people fleeing the Taliban
An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
Iran has closed its border with Afghanistan, an interior ministry official told state-run Mizan news agency.
Hossein Qasemi, director of the ministry's office for border affairs, said authorities in Iran's three provinces on the border with Afghanistan had been instructed to turn back citizens of Afghanistan - citing developments in the country, and "coronavirus restrictions", reports the BBC.
It comes days after Qasemi said Iran was setting up refugee camps along its Afghan border, in anticipation of an influx of people fleeing the Taliban.
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According to the UN, as of October last year there are around 780,000 Afghan refugees living in Iran.
