Up to 3 million people displaced inside Iran amid war, UN says

Vehicles move along a highway past a war memorial statue and a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with plumes of black smoke billowing, in Tehran on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
Vehicles move along a highway past a war memorial statue and a billboard depicting Iran's late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with plumes of black smoke billowing, in Tehran on March 8, 2026. (AFP)

Up to 3.2 million people have been displaced inside Iran since the Middle East war erupted nearly two weeks ago, the United Nations refugee agency says.

“Between 600,000 and one million Iranian households are now temporarily displaced inside Iran as a result of the ongoing conflict, according to preliminary assessments, representing up to 3.2 million people,” says Ayaki Ito, who heads UNHCR’s emergency support team and is refugee response coordinator for the Middle East emergency.

“This figure is likely to continue rising as hostilities persist, marking a worrying escalation in humanitarian needs,” he says in a statement.

There is no mention of the number of people who have left their homes in Gulf countries and Israel as a result of Iran’s attacks.

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