Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Coronavirus Forces Afghans to Leave Iran VOA News An Associated Press report says at least 200,000 Afghans living in Iran have been returning home in recent weeks because of Iran's COVID-19 outbreak. The account says the Afghan nationals in Iran are exiting "a country that is one of the world's biggest epicenters of the pandemic to an impoverished homeland that is woefully unprepared to deal with it." .