"The Iranian authorities have arrested Afghans who had tourist documentation and torn up their passports," he alleged. "They have even deported Afghans who held Iranian ID cards. There are more than 2,000 such cases."

Nadir Farhod, with the U.N. refugee office in Afghanistan, appeared to substantiate Hamed's claim, stating that his office had examples of legal refugees being expelled from Iran. He said his office had spoken to officials in Tehran about the issue.

Mohammad Shah displayed the remnants of his Iranian ID card as he talked about how he was expelled from that country.

"I showed them that I have this card, but I was insulted and beaten because I was an Afghan," he said. "They tore up my card and handed the pieces back to me."

The dispute over the refugees is not only threatening relations between the two countries, but also the authority of President Hamid Karzai's government. Last month, Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta announced that he had urged Iranian authorities to review their deportation policy.

Broadcast reports last month indicated that Iranian officials had agreed to reconsider their policy. But members of Afghanistan's parliament in Kabul apparently believe that Spanta and Ustad Akbar Akbar, the minister for refugee affairs, were doing enough to halt the flow. Lawmakers voted to dismiss both Spanta and Akbar from their posts.

Analysts here have been puzzled by Tehran's decision to force tens of thousands of Afghans out of the country. Some speculate the move is actually part of grand scheme by Iranian leaders to make life as difficult as possible for the United States.

By forcing tens of thousands of Afghan refugees back into the country, they create additional problems for the Karzai regime and its Western supporters.

Of course, these analysts observe, it's ultimately Afghans who suffer.

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Hafizullah Gardesh is a journalist in Afghanistan who writes for the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, a nonprofit organization that trains journalists in areas of conflict. Readers may write to the author at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, U.K.; Web site: www.iwpr.net. McClatchy-Tribune Information Services