Millions of Afghans benefiting from heavily subsidized services, goods in Iran: Report

Millions of Afghan refugees residing in Iran are using the country’s heavily subsidized energy and goods supply system, according to a report.

News ID: 5448

Date: 20 November 2024 - 07:24

TABNAK, Nov, 20 : The report said that more than 4.7 million Afghan refugees are living in Iran, including some 2 million who have entered the country illegally in recent years.

It said Afghan refugees in Iran have been using energy and basic goods at a heavily subsidized price just like the Iranian citizens.

It said that the issue has put a heavy burden on Iran’s budget, causing the country to spend billions of dollars to subsidize basic goods like bread, electricity, and gas for the refugees.

The report said Afghans have a bread consumption per capita that is seven times higher than the Iranians, adding that refugees have in fact been the main beneficiaries of Iran’s massive subsidies for flour.

Its estimates showed that subsidized energy given to illegal Afghan migrants in Iran is worth some $3 billion per year.

It said other countries in the region, including Turkey which is home to more than 4 million Syrians displaced by the war in their country, have a much different system for provision of basic services and goods to refugees.

It said Turkey charges market prices for energy supplied to Syrian refugees while Jordan only offers limited quotas to Palestinian refugees living in the country.

An immigration expert said that Afghan refugees living in Iran have a right to benefit from the country’s subsidy system.

Peyman Haghighat Talab said Afghans living in Iran are responsible for $5 billion worth of the country’s gross domestic product due to services they provide in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

“It is wrong to only see them as consumers of subsidies,” he said.

However, Yaghoub Andayesh, a university professor of economics, said subsidies are intended to create welfare for Iran’s own citizens.

Andayesh said low prices only create favorable conditions for those groups of refugees who refuse to return to their country.