The Iranian government has announced that approximately 40 Iranian citizens will be returned from the United States to Iran on Sunday, January 25 (5 Dalw). These individuals have been held in recent months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.
Kabul 24: The head of Iran’s Interests Section in Washington told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that the group will depart from Mesa Airport in Arizona, leave U.S. soil, make a short stop in Egypt, and then continue via Kuwait to Iran.
This marks the third flight repatriating Iranians—including asylum seekers and others detained for various immigration-related reasons—back to Iran.
The Iranian Interests Section in Washington coordinated with U.S. immigration authorities to issue the necessary return documents for the detainees.In the past four months, two previous groups of Iranian citizens were deported from the U.S. According to Iranian officials, the first flight in late September involved around 120 undocumented migrants.
In early December, reports (including from the BBC) indicated that about 50–55 more Iranians lacking valid residency documents were deported.U.S. officials have not responded to questions from BBC Persian regarding this third group ahead of the deportation.The news has received coverage in U.S. media, with two Democratic members of Congress—Yasmin Ansari and Dave Min—issuing a joint statement condemning the action.
They expressed deep concern over the human rights situation in Iran, describing the deportations as “profoundly disturbing” amid what they called the “brutal suppression” of protesters in Iran.
The representatives highlighted the risks to those who sought asylum on political, religious, or gender-related grounds (including LGBTQ+ individuals), warning that return could endanger their lives.
These deportations occur against a backdrop of heightened U.S.-Iran tensions. While the Trump administration has criticized Iran’s regime for its crackdown on protests and threatened further action, it has simultaneously pursued strict immigration enforcement policies, including deportations to countries with documented human rights concerns.
