An Iranian official stated on Tuesday that the United States plans to deport hundreds of Iranian citizens in the coming weeks, with the first group expected to arrive in Iran within days, as US President Donald Trump continues his immigration crackdown.
Hossein Noushabadi, director general for parliamentary and consular affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the Tasnim news agency that US immigration authorities plan to deport about 400 Iranians. He indicated that the first 120 deportees expected to arrive in Iran within days, specifically stating the planeload of Iranian nationals would arrive “within the next one or two days” after a stop in Qatar.
The deportations, which have not yet been publicly acknowledged by the Trump administration, are reported to be part of a wide-reaching crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers in the US, with President Trump pledging to carry out the largest deportation operation in the country’s history.
Details on Deportees and Logistical Arrangements
Noushabadi confirmed that most of the Iranian nationals targeted had entered the US without documentation, primarily through Mexico, while some faced other immigration issues.
The New York Times, citing anonymous Iranian officials, reported that the deportations were “the culmination of months of discussions between the two countries.” The news outlet noted that some of the Iranians had volunteered to leave after being in detention centres for months, while others had not.
Regarding logistics, a US-chartered flight took off from Louisiana on Monday and was scheduled to arrive in Qatar late on Tuesday so the deportees could be transferred to a Tehran-bound flight, as confirmed by a US official.
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Diplomatic Tensions, and Communication Discrepancies
These events occur as tensions remain high between the two countries following the US’s involvement alongside its ally Israel in bombing Iran during a 12-day June conflict.
On the matter of consultation, Noushabadi said on Tuesday that US authorities had unilaterally made the decision to deport the Iranian nationals without consultations with Iran. This statement stands in contrast to the New York Times report of months-long discussions.
The White House and the US Department of State did not immediately respond to requests from the Reuters news agency for comment regarding the planned deportations.
The US administration, since returning to office in January, has set out to deport a record number of people living in the US, though it has struggled to increase deportation levels despite creating new avenues to send migrants to countries other than their own, as demonstrated by the February deportation of 119 people, including Iranians, to Panama.
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