Iran announced Sunday that it will accept a group of deportees from the United States who have been held in U.S. immigration detention centers for months. The move marks the third time the Iranian regime has accepted deported nationals since President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, but it comes at a particularly fraught moment following Iran’s brutal suppression of massive protests this month.
The announcement was made by Abolfazl Mehrabadi, head of Iran’s Interests Section in Washington, DC — the diplomatic office that represents Tehran in the absence of formal U.S.‑Iran relations, operating through the Pakistani embassy. Mehrabadi said the group of Iranian deportees was scheduled to depart from Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona and return to Iran via Egypt and Kuwait after his office worked with U.S. immigration officials to obtain travel documents.
Iranian state media alleged that the deportees had been “held for over two months in overcrowded facilities where basic hygiene and medical standards were nonexistent,” leading to outbreaks of viral infections that affected over half of the detainees. Officials claimed they had to intervene to provide “essential clothing and supplies” to those being deported.
Mehrabadi said that while around 40 Iranian detainees were initially expected to be on the flight, only about 20 remained due to weather delays and a measles outbreak. A source later indicated that the final passenger count may have been even lower.
The timing of the announcement has drawn criticism given the ongoing crackdown inside Iran, where human rights groups say thousands of protesters have been killed and tens of thousands arrested. According to reports from U.S.‑based activists, the regime’s response to nationwide uprisings has been deadly, including among children and unarmed civilians.
Some U.S. lawmakers have condemned the decision to deport Iranians back to a government accused of widespread human rights abuses. Representatives Dave Min and Yassamin Ansari issued a statement last week saying they were “deeply disturbed” by plans for another deportation flight, noting that the group included LGBTQ Iranians who could face persecution or even death upon return. They said they had sought answers from the State Department and Department of Homeland Security but received no substantive response.
Two Iranian men seeking asylum on the basis of persecution by Iran’s morality police were not included on the latest deportation flight. One received a temporary stay of removal from a federal appeals court, while the other was quarantined due to measles. An attorney for the men said their asylum claims were strong but were denied last year because they lacked legal representation.
One of the men, speaking anonymously for safety reasons, made an emotional appeal to President Trump, saying he and others simply want to live in the United States where they can be safe.
The deportation news comes as U.S. military forces are moving toward the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group recently arrived in the region, with U.S. officials saying it may not yet be fully in position. President Trump has said he ordered the deployment of an “armada” to monitor Iran and indicated that military action could be possible if the regime escalates executions of protesters or resumes its nuclear enrichment activities.
