US to Deport Hundreds of Iranians, Tehran Confirms

US to Deport Hundreds of Iranians, Tehran Confirms

Iran on Tuesday said the United States will deport hundreds of Iranians back to the country in the coming weeks, with the first 120 expected to depart within a day or two.

Hossein Noushabadi, director-general for parliamentary affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry, told state television that most of those being returned had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally, while others faced various immigration issues. The first flight is expected to make a stopover in Qatar, though authorities there have not confirmed the transit.

The deportations, not yet publicly confirmed by Washington, come amid heightened tensions between the two nations following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June. They coincide with the recent reimposition of U.N. sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further straining the country’s struggling economy.

According to Noushabadi, the U.S. authorities made the decision unilaterally, without prior consultation with Tehran. However, anonymous Iranian officials indicated that the deportations were the outcome of months of discussions between the two countries.

The plan contrasts with decades of U.S. policy that allowed Iranians fleeing religious, political, or sexual persecution since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to seek residence. In the 2024 fiscal year, only 20 Iranians were deported from the U.S., according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.

Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, attended the U.N. General Assembly last week in a last-ditch effort to prevent the reimposed sanctions. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described diplomacy with Washington as a “dead end,” while Araghchi said messages had been exchanged both directly and indirectly with the U.S., following guidance from the Supreme Leader.