By Elsie Kamsiyochi
U.S. federal authorities have detained two close relatives of the late Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their lawful permanent residency, the State Department announced on Saturday.
The arrests mark another dramatic escalation in Washington’s efforts to restrict the presence of individuals linked to Iran’s political and security establishment amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Tehran.
According to the State Department, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, the niece of the slain general, and her daughter were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shortly after their green cards were rescinded. “Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the statement said. The department also confirmed that Rubio revoked both of their permanent resident statuses on national security grounds.
Soleimani Afshar, Washington says, has a documented history of supporting the Iranian government and amplifying Iranian state propaganda. Her husband has also been barred from entering the United States. The detentions come at a moment of heightened tensions, as the U.S.–Israeli military campaign against Iran enters its sixth week following a sharp escalation in hostilities across the Middle East.
Qassem Soleimani — long considered the architect of Iran’s regional military influence — was killed in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad airport in January 2020 during Donald Trump’s first term, a decision that reshaped U.S.–Iran relations and provoked deep reprisals across the region.
The State Department also revealed that Afshar’s detention is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to expel individuals with close ties to Iran’s leadership. Earlier this month, the U.S. government terminated the legal residency of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of veteran Iranian political figure Ali Larijani, as well as her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. Both individuals have since left the United States and are permanently barred from reentry, the department confirmed.
Ali Larijani — a towering figure in Iranian politics who served as parliament speaker, nuclear negotiator, and a major architect of Iran’s security strategy — was killed in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike in mid-March. His death further destabilized Iran’s political system, already strained by war and internal divisions.
The detentions highlight a central theme of Trump’s second-term immigration agenda: a renewed effort to remove foreign nationals deemed security risks. The administration has argued that individuals connected to hostile foreign governments pose threats to U.S. interests, though rights groups warn that the policy too often sweeps up people based on political speech, family ties, or unproven allegations.
Civil liberties advocates have raised concerns about due process, pointing out that courts have repeatedly intervened in previous ICE detentions under Trump. Many immigrants detained for their political views — including pro-Palestinian activists and foreign nationals critical of U.S. policy — have been released through judicial orders.
The arrests of Soleimani’s relatives add a new layer of complexity to the unfolding U.S.-Iran confrontation, further blurring the lines between immigration enforcement and geopolitical conflict.
As the war continues and diplomatic channels remain frozen, Washington’s actions signal that the conflict is expanding beyond the battlefield — reaching into courts, communities, and even family networks far from the Middle East.
Source: Reuters
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