Tehran, Iran, October 10
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
There are 300,000 Afghan nationals studying in Iranian universities, Afghan Ambassador to Iran Nasir Ahmad-Nour said.
Four decades ago the USSR attacked the country which led to vast immigration, he said, adding that Iran and Pakistan are the biggest hosts to Afghan refugees, Fars news agency reported October 10.
He expressed gratitude to Iran for allowing Afghans pursue university programs in the country and pointed out that in some countries, Afghan refugees are not allowed to schools and other educational centers.
Right now over 200,000 Afghans apply for university seats in the country every year, but the country has room only for 50 thousand, he said.
There is no timetable for Afghan nationals leaving Iran, Abdolhadi Farhang, the commercial attaché of Afghanistan in Tehran told Trend April 26.
He said that Afghan national leave Iran based on the UN regulations and agreements between the two neighboring countries.
Earlier Brigadier General Hossein Zolfaqari, the Islamic Republic's Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs said that over three million Afghani refugees live in Iran.
Iran hosts over 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees, he said, adding the same number of illegal Afghani refugees also live in the country.