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One-Minute World News
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Iran: 1,300,000 refugees
There are about 1.3 million refugees in Iran, according to a report published by the UNHCR in 2003. Around one million of these are Afghans, with the remainder largely made up of Iraqis.
The government has, according to Human Rights Watch, "grown increasingly disenchanted about hosting such a large refugee population in the face of minimal international interest, financial support, or burden sharing".
In 2001, restrictions on refugees' access to employment were tightened. The same year, the government and UNHCR set about registering millions of refugees, recognising their status as refugees in Iran.
