US state department revokes green cards of three Iranian nationals it links to regime

US Revokes Green Cards of Iranian Nationals Linked to Tehran, Arrests Two

The Trump administration has revoked the green cards or US visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, according to multiple reports. Two of those individuals — the niece and grand-niece of the late Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani — were arrested by federal agents and are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the State Department said on Saturday.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio terminated the lawful permanent resident status of Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, whose name has not been released, the department announced. The two women were arrested late Friday night, according to a statement cited by several outlets, including Al Jazeera, the BBC, and The Guardian.

The State Department described Soleimani Afshar, the niece of the former head of Iran's Quds Force, as "an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran," a characterization repeated in statements from Rubio. Officials accused her of promoting Iranian regime propaganda, celebrating attacks against American soldiers and military facilities, praising Iran's new supreme leader, and denouncing America as the "Great Satan," while living what officials described as a "lavish lifestyle" in Los Angeles, as evidenced by posts on her Instagram account.

Soleimani Afshar's husband has also been barred from entering the United States, according to the State Department statement, as reported by multiple sources including the BBC and The Hindu.

Coverage Comparison

Reporting on the arrests has been broadly consistent across international outlets, though the framing varies. Al Jazeera, the BBC, Dawn, and the Jerusalem Post all led with the arrests and the revocation of residency permits, focusing on the familial relation to Qassem Soleimani. The Guardian and the Jerusalem Post published additional coverage highlighting a third case: the arrest of Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife, and their son, who were also stripped of their green cards. Hashemi is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, the infamous spokeswoman for the militants who held 52 Americans hostage during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.

The South China Morning Post and The Hindu reported that the administration has revoked green cards or visas for at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government, including the two women arrested. The State Department said Hashemi entered the US in 2014 on a student visa and was granted lawful permanent resident status in 2016 through the diversity immigrant visa program, which the Trump administration has since ended.

Some outlets, including Al Jazeera and The Guardian, noted that the arrests come amid what they described as a US and Israeli military campaign against Iran that began in late February. The Jerusalem Post, in its coverage of the Hashemi family, referred to Ebtekar as "Screaming Mary," a moniker used by the State Department in its statement.

Key Claims

The State Department said that Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are in ICE custody pending removal from the US. Rubio posted on social media that he terminated their legal status and that the women were "green card holders living lavishly in the United States." The department also stated that it "will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes," a line quoted by multiple outlets.

Regarding the Hashemi family, the State Department said it revoked the green cards of Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son, and that all three are in ICE custody. Hashemi's mother, Ebtekar, was described in the department's statement as "notorious for her role as the leading propagandist for the violent Islamists who perpetrated the Iran hostage crisis."

The State Department also revealed that it had previously terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of former Iranian security chief Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The statement said the pair "are no longer in the United States and are barred from future entry." Larijani was assassinated on March 17 in an Israeli strike, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The administration has also revoked visas of several diplomats and staff at Iran's mission to the United Nations late last year, as reported by The Hindu and the South China Morning Post.

Perspectives

The actions have been presented by the State Department as a national security measure. Rubio's statements, echoed in department releases, assert that the administration will not tolerate foreign nationals supporting what it terms anti-American terrorist regimes.

Some commentators have raised concerns about the implications for free speech and due process. Al Jazeera's report noted that the case "raises questions about the limits of free speech rights in the US and the extent to which family members should be punished for their relations," reflecting a broader debate over whether such revocations are based on protected expression or material support for designated organizations.

The broader context of US-Iran tensions is mentioned across reports, with several outlets noting that the arrests come after the US and Israel began military operations against Iran in late February, a fact that may frame these actions as part of a wider conflict. However, the State Department has not explicitly linked the two.

These revocations are part of a series of actions targeting individuals with ties to the Iranian government, including the termination of legal status for the daughter and son-in-law of Ali Larijani and the barring of Soleimani Afshar's husband. The administration has not commented on whether further actions are planned.