TEHRAN – Jan Egeland, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has announced the Council’s readiness to enhance humanitarian ties with Iran.

“The Norwegian Refugee Council, in line with its humanitarian missions, is ready to explore and strengthen cooperation with relevant institutions to support the individuals and families who have experienced losses during the recent war,” IRIB quoted Egeland as saying.

The official made the remarks in a meeting, held on Monday, with the head of the National Organization for the Migration, Nader Yar-Ahmadi. The meeting was also attended by the officials from ministries of foreign affairs, education, and the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).

The official also stressed the importance of mobilizing international financial resources to help conflict-affected communities, rebuild local capacities, and support those in need; he also called for greater global attention to the humanitarian consequences of conflicts.

He expressed solidarity with the families and civilians that are affected by the war, and emphasized that humanitarian support should cover all vulnerable and impacted people.

Also, Egeland praised Iran’s generosity in hosting Refugees, and the country’s effort in providing support for foreign nationals in different fields like education, health, livelihood, and employment over the past four decades.

Highlighting the role of Iran in supporting Afghan refugees, the official said the international aid need to increase.

Providing educational and health services as well as proper living conditions for four million refugees requires extensive resources, and Iran cannot shoulder the heavy burden alone. Therefore, international organizations should play a more important role in addressing the problems of refugees by providing the necessary funds and resources.

For his part, Yar-Ahmadi highlighted the country’s long history in hosting refugees despite economic restrictions, and pressures posed by illegal sanctions.

He called for international community’s support to help Iran expand short-term and long-term infrastructures in regions wherein refugees reside.

The official announced Iran’s readiness to develop infrastructure to provide remote education of Afghans in Iran and Afghanistan with the help of international organizations.

Iran at forefront of providing support to refugees

Over the past four decades, Iran has been one of the top countries hosting the largest number of refugees and migrants, despite many challenges facing the country.

The majority of these refugees are from Afghanistan who have fled from their home country due to wars, insecurity, poverty, and crises.

In 2023, the global number of international migrants was approximately 304 million, with 83 million of them living in internal displacement.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Iran is host to some 773,000 refugees holding Amayesh cards, and over 2.7 million in a refugee-like situation. The total number of refugees has turned Iran into the second-largest host of refugees. Hosting more than 3.5 million refugees, Iran is an important part of this global picture and one of the key players in managing the migration crisis.

Surprisingly, field reports and unofficial statistics claim that seven million Afghans are residing in the country, four million of whom are undocumented.

International institutions such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have always lauded Iran for the provision of different kinds of services, including health and education, to the refugees. Afghan children, along with Iranian students, are studying in the same schools without paying extra tuition, while in other countries, refugees are facing serious limitations in benefiting from treatment and education services.

Dhananjaya Bhattarai, the head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Holy Mashhad, has commended Iran’s generosity in hosting refugees and treating them with dignity.

Most of the Afghan refugees in Iran are living in villages and cities, and they are in constant interaction with host communities.

Iran, in cooperation with international organizations, has tried to help refugees access livelihood opportunities, vocational training, and collaborations with nongovernmental organizations; this approach has transformed migrants from a passive population into an active part of society.

However, Iran is facing severe challenges as the international community has provided less than a third of the funding needed to address the humanitarian needs of refugees.

With the beginning of the current Iranian year, which started on March 21, the government adopted the new policy to organize refugees to dispatch unauthorized migrants.

In the first nine months of 2025, more than 1.7 million Afghan refugees have returned from Iran to Afghanistan, the UNHCR reported in a press release on October 27.

Even at the borders, a wide range of services are being offered to refugees, particularly in eastern South Khorasan, northeastern Khorasan Razavi, and southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan provinces.

The services include the establishment of health camps, the screening of communicable diseases, and the provision of safe water and sanitation, according to the health ministry’s website.

The health ministry has established permanent and temporary camps to do screening, and provide medical services such as injections, serum therapy, as well as treating acute patients.