US revokes green cards and visas of several Iranian nationals connected to Tehran government
WASHINGTON– The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or U.S. visas of at least four Iranian nationals linked to the current or former Iranian government, including two who were detained by immigration authorities and face deportation.
The final steps were taken this week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that they were no longer eligible for lawful permanent resident status or entry into the United States. The measures follow a decision late last year in which the visas of several diplomats and staff at the Iranian mission to the United Nations were also revoked.
In a statement released Saturday, the State Department said the niece and great-niece of former Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike near Baghdad airport in 2020, were arrested Friday evening by immigration agents after Rubio revoked their green card.
“Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the statement said, adding that Afshar’s husband was also barred from entering the United States.
Afshar and her daughter lived a “lavish lifestyle” in Los Angeles for many years while publicly supporting the Iranian government and anti-American attacks, according to the statement.
She is “a staunch supporter of the Iranian regime that has celebrated attacks on Americans and called our country the ‘Great Satan,'” Rubio said in an article on X. “The Trump administration will not allow our country to become a hotbed for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.” »
The Iranian mission to the UN made no comment on Saturday.
Afshar and her daughter are just the latest Iranians to have their legal status in the United States revoked by Rubio, who recently revoked the visas of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, an academic and daughter of former Iranian national security adviser Ali Larijani, who was killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike last month. Her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, also had his visa revoked, the State Department said. Neither are in the United States yet
In early December, well before the wave of anti-government protests in Iran and the start of the war, the State Department revoked or refused to renew the visas of several Iranian diplomats, including the deputy ambassador, and staff members of the Iranian mission to the United Nations.
The ministry said Friday that measures were taken on Dec. 4, but declined to comment further “for privacy and security reasons” except to note that they were unrelated to the protests or the war.
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AP reporter Farnoush Amiri contributed to this story.
