A senior Iranian official on Sunday strongly rejected allegations that Iran had expelled Afghan refugees legally residing in Iran.

Iran did not deport any legal Afghan refugees, said Mohammad- Reza Rostami, deputy director general of the Foreign Nationals and Expatriates Department at the Interior Ministry.

He said that on the eve of the Iranian new year to start on Monday, a series of security measures had been adopted against seasoned thieves, culprits and wandering addicts.

Rostami said the security measures also applied to a limited number of Afghan refugees, who lack any legal residential permits and have a black record, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Rostami's denial echoed Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, who Saturday called the allegations "baseless rumors." According to Rostami, spokesman of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Jacques Franquin has alleged recently that Iran had expelled Afghans without any coordination with the U.N..

Iran reserves the right to deal with those disturbing its national security and order, while adhering to the joint protocol for voluntary return of Afghan refugees, he said. Iran and the UNHCR have signed a protocol of cooperation to facilitate and help repatriation of Afghan refugees residing in Iran.

Rostami said the protocol envisages preparation of necessary facilities for return of those holding valid residential cards and giving a six-month period to the Afghans residing without any legal permits to leave Iran.

He put the number of Afghans holding valid residence permits in Iran at more than 1.4 million.

Afghan refugees comprise the bulk of refugees residing in Iran and for more than two decades Iran has been hosting them with little aid from international organizations, noted the official. He said Afghan refugees have badly depleted Iran's economic and social resources, which Iranians themselves needed. This is in addition to the wide-scale adverse effects of the Afghans' presence on culture and social services in Iran, he added. Refugees reside mainly in the provinces of Tehran, Khorasan, Sistan-Baluchestan and Isfahan, and in some regions they even outnumber locals, the official said.