1.5m Illegal Immigrants

There are an estimated 760,000 legal immigrants in Iran and the number of illegal foreign nationals is said to be around 1.5 million, the Interior Ministry said. Afghans constitute the largest number of refugees followed by Iraqis. Nearly 4,000 immigrants have married Iranian women, Mehr News Agency reported. More than 5,000 Afghans are in Iranian prisons for a variety of crimes, namely drug smuggling,  theft and illegal border crossing.