Washington, April 4 U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the green cards of two foreign nationals linked to the family of Qasem Soleimani, with U.S. authorities detaining them and initiating removal proceedings, the State Department said.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were arrested by federal agents after their lawful permanent resident status was terminated. Both are now in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States,” Rubio said on X.
“This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter’s legal status, and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States,” Rubio said.
In a statement, the State Department said Soleimani Afshar is “an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran,” citing both press reporting and her own social media activity.
Qasem Soleimani, a senior IRGC commander, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq in 2020.
“While living in the United States, she (Hamideh) promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and voiced her unflinching support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,” the State Department said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington has designated as a terror organisation.
The statement added that Afshar “pushed this propaganda for Iran’s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles,” pointing to frequent posts on her now-deleted Instagram account.
Rubio further said the administration “will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”
The State Department said Afshar’s husband has also been barred from entering the United States.
The move is part of a broader action taken earlier this month, when Rubio terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of former Iranian official Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi.
“Both Ardeshir-Larijani and Motamedi are no longer in the United States and are barred from future entry,” the statement said.
The department thanked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE for “continued partnership and collaboration in keeping Americans safe.”
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