The first group of Afghan refugees sheltered in Iran has returned home under a repatriation agreement between the U.N. refugee agency and leaders in Tehran and Kabul. 

The U.N. refugee agency says 146 Afghans crossed through Islam Qala at Afghanistan's western border Tuesday. This was the first batch of more than 400,000 refugees expected to repatriate from Iran this year. 

Under the program Afghan refugees are taken by bus to the Iranian border and then transported to the provincial Afghan capital of their choice. The program allows refugees to return home with all their belongings and also provides each returnee with a small amount of money and an assistance package including food and basic tools. 

The repatriation plan, which was adopted last week in Geneva, stresses the voluntary nature of the returns. 

Afghans sheltered in Pakistan have also been returning home under a similar agreement. But earlier Tuesday thousands of them were stranded when disgruntled farmers began throwing rocks at cars transporting them. U.N. officials say the farmers were protesting government plans to ban poppy cultivation. 

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP. 

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