US sends 50+ Iranians back to Tehran
Shafaq News – Tehran
Fifty-five Iranians deported from the United States are expected to arrive in Iran in the coming days, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday, marking the second group returned under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In September, Iranian officials reported that US authorities had identified roughly 400 Iranians for removal, with the first charter flight — carrying about 120 people — traveling to Tehran through Qatar.
In a press conference, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei indicated that another group is now preparing for repatriation, stressing that the deportations were based on "political grounds and anti-migrant policies that are against international law".
Baqaei noted that Tehran and Washington lack direct diplomatic channels, emphasizing that coordination on deportation logistics takes place through their interest-protection offices or via intermediaries.
Last week, the Trump administration moved to suspend immigration requests — including green-card and naturalization applications — for citizens of 19 countries, among them Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Haiti, Venezuela, Sudan, and Somalia. Washington also shortened the validity of work permits for refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrant groups from five years to 18 months.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow linked the restrictions to the November 26 incident in Washington, where an Afghan national resettled in 2021 assaulted two National Guard members.
Read more: US shuts down visas: 19 countries under new immigration ban
