With its ferris wheel, coffee shops and promenades, Tehran’s Chitgar Lake has been a popular spot for Iranians since it was opened to the public in 2013. But it has also become a hangout for young Afghan men, and a focus for growing public resentment of the mass immigration since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021. Many Iranians – ordinary citizens and politicians – have intensified their rhetoric toward Afghans, with growing calls for crackdowns and mass deportations.
