US revokes visas for some Iranian nationals linked to Tehran government

The Donald Trump administration has revoked the "green cards" or US visas of at least four Iranian citizens associated with the current or former government of Iran, including two people who have been detained by immigration authorities and are expected to be deported.

The latest action came just 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 steps follow a decision late last year that also revoked the visas of several Iranian diplomats and staff members of the United Nations mission.

In a statement on Saturday, the State Department announced that the niece and great-niece of former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad airport in 2020, were arrested late Friday by immigration agents after Rubio revoked their green cards.

"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 has also been barred from entering the United States.

According to the statement, Afshar and her daughter had lived a "life of luxury" in Los Angeles for many years, while publicly supporting the Iranian government and anti-American attacks.

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She is “an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime that has celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the ‘Great Devil,’” Rubio said in a post on the X network. “The Trump administration will not allow our country to become a haven for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

The Iranian mission to the United Nations had no comment on Saturday.