“Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” That was the State Department’s statement after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the green cards of the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani, the late Iranian military commander.
Immigration agents arrested the two women in Los Angeles on Friday night, according to ABC7. The State Department announced the revocation the next day.
Rubio wrote on X that Afshar and her daughter “were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.” He called Afshar an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to the country as the “Great Satan.” “This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter’s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States,” he wrote. ABC7 reported that Rubio said they will be deported to Iran.
What the State Department alleges
The department’s statement said that while she lived in the United States, Afshar promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks on American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader and voiced support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization. It said she did so while living in luxury in Los Angeles, as shown by posts on an Instagram account that has since been deleted.
No charges against Afshar or her daughter were announced. Rubio also said Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the United States.
“The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” the statement concluded.
Not the first case
Earlier this month, Rubio terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Ali Larijani, a former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The department said that couple was deported and barred from returning.
Soleimani was killed in a U.S. strike in Iraq in 2020. American officials said at the time the strike was needed to stop an “imminent attack.” Protests broke out across the Middle East. On Wednesday, President Trump brought him up again in an address on the war in Iran. “He was an evil genius, brilliant person, a horrible human being, however,” Trump said. “Had he lived, we would have had, probably, a different conversation tonight.”
ABC7 reported that the green cards of Afshar and her daughter are now permanently revoked.
Sources
- US arrests niece of Iran's Qasem Soleimani, revokes green card | The Jerusalem Post
- ICE detains nieces of late Iranian general in Los Angeles; green cards revoked by state department
