The United States has stripped two family members of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Qasem Soleimani of their lawful permanent resident status and taken them into custody, the State Department announced Saturday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio personally ordered the termination of green card privileges for Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, identified as Soleimani’s niece, and her daughter.
Federal agents arrested both women late Friday in Los Angeles, and they are now being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending removal from the country.
According to the State Department, Afshar has been a vocal backer of the Iranian government while residing in the U.S. Officials say she used social media to spread messages favorable to Tehran, including praise for attacks on American troops and facilities in the Middle East, support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and criticism of the United States as the “Great Satan.”
She also reportedly expressed strong backing for Iran’s current leadership.
The department noted that Afshar maintained a comfortable lifestyle in Los Angeles even as she posted content aligning with Iranian regime positions online. Her husband has additionally been barred from entering the United States.
In a separate but related move earlier this month, Secretary Rubio revoked the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former senior Iranian official Ali Larijani and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi.
Both individuals have already left the country and are prohibited from returning, officials said.
The actions come as the Trump administration continues to tighten measures against individuals it views as supporters of regimes hostile to American interests.
The State Department thanked the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for their assistance in carrying out the detentions.
“The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” the department stated.
Qasem Soleimani, who headed the IRGC’s overseas operations, was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020 during President Trump’s first term.
This development reflects broader U.S. efforts to address perceived national security risks linked to ties with the Iranian government amid ongoing regional tensions.
