Yang Yong Wang Jinguo

Abstract：Based on religious，economic and geopolitical considerations，Iran has adjusted its policy on Afghan refugees for the sake of its own national interest．This paper divides the evolution of Iran’s policy on Afghan refugees into the following four stages．The first stage was in the period of the Soviet’s invasion of Afghanistan ( 1978-1991)，when Iran pursued a policy of full acceptance of Afghan refugees．The second stage was in the period of Afghanistan’ s civil war and the Taliban regime (1992-2001)，when Iran encouraged voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees．The third stage was in the period of the US war on terror in Afghanistan ( 2002-2011)，when Iran adopted a policy of compulsory repatriation of Afghan refugees．The fourth stage is in the period of the Syrian crisis ( from 2012 till today)，when Iran slackens its policy of compulsory repatriation of Afghan refugees．Although Afghan refugees have brought an enormous social burden on Iran，they，at the geopolitical level，have increased Iran’s leverage in its game with the United States，Afghanistan and other countries.