US federal agents have arrested the niece and grandniece of the late Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani after the Trump administration’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, revoked their lawful permanent resident status, officials said on Saturday. The pair, identified as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and are pending removal from the country.
In a statement, Rubio confirmed the development, which follows the US and Israeli militaries beginning a war on Iran in late February, partly citing Iran’s history of sponsoring terrorism. The Trump administration has sought to revoke the legal immigration statuses of individuals deemed aligned with US enemies. Rubio stated that the US “will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”
Officials allege that Soleimani Afshar celebrated military strikes against American personnel, praised Iran’s new supreme leader after the US and Israel killed his predecessor, and labelled the US the “Great Satan.” They also claim she voiced “unflinching support” for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) while maintaining a “lavish” lifestyle in Los Angeles, citing her Instagram account as evidence.
In addition to the revocation of green card status for Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, her husband has been formally prohibited from entering the US. This action follows a similar move by Rubio to terminate the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former Iranian official Ali Larijani, and her husband, who have since left the US under a permanent entry ban.
Qassem Soleimani, the father of Soleimani Afshar, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020 during Donald Trump’s first presidency. He was widely considered the most powerful man in Iran after the supreme leader and commanded the elite Quds Force of the IRGC. Iran’s officials had vowed to avenge his killing, with former president Ebrahim Raisi stating in 2023 that “revenge for martyr Soleimani’s blood is certain.”
