ISTANBUL
The US has revoked the legal residency status of two relatives of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qasem Soleimani, with two of them detained by federal agents, the State Department said on Saturday.
According to a department statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the termination of lawful permanent resident status for Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, identified as Soleimani’s niece, and her daughter. Both were subsequently detained and are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The department said Afshar had expressed support for Iran’s leadership and the IRGC, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization. It also cited her social media activity, alleging that she promoted Iranian government messaging and praised attacks on US personnel and military facilities in the Middle East.
US officials also said Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the country.
In a separate but related measure earlier this month, Rubio also revoked the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of former Iranian National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. Both have since left the US and are prohibited from reentry, according to the statement.
The department said the actions were carried out in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, adding that the administration would not allow individuals who support what it described as anti-American terrorist regimes to reside in the US.
Its actions also come amid the US-Israel war on Iran, now in its second month.
According to Iran's Foreign Ministry, the US bears "definitive international responsibility" for the January 2020 assassination of Soleimani and his associates in a drone strike outside Baghdad Airport.