ICE Arrests Soleimani’s Niece and Daughter in LA Amid Lifestyle Claims

The United States has stripped at least four Iranian nationals of green cards or visas, including relatives of slain Iranian commander Gen Qassem Soleimani. Among them are Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and Afshar’s daughter, who now face deportation after immigration authorities detained them.

Afshar, the unnamed daughter, and Afshar’s husband had been living in Los Angeles for years, officials said. The US State Department stated that Afshar and the daughter enjoyed a “lavish lifestyle” while expressing support for Iran’s leadership and backing anti-American attacks, though no information about Afshar’s job was released.

US visas revocation linked to Iranian regime figures

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Afshar and the daughter were arrested on Friday. The statement added that Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the country. Authorities told news agency AP that the pair would be deported, while two other affected individuals were not publicly identified.

The decision formed part of a broader US effort targeting people seen as aligned with Iran’s government. The moves were authorised after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ruled that the four Iranians no longer qualified for lawful permanent residency or entry under US visas, according to officials.

US visas action tied to Qassem Soleimani links

Gen Qassem Soleimani, a senior figure in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, died in a US airstrike near Baghdad airport in Iraq in 2020. Images from an anti-Israeli gathering in 2024 showed Iranians holding posters of Soleimani, who remains widely viewed as a folk hero by many supporters.

Explaining the decision against Afshar, the State Department highlighted years of public backing for Iran’s government. The statement said Afshar had supported anti-American attacks while living in the United States. Officials linked the family’s presence to wider concerns about figures close to the Islamic Republic regime retaining US visas or residency.

US visas cancellations include other Iranian elites

Afshar and the daughter are among several Iranians whose legal standing in the United States has been withdrawn. Donald Trump’s regime recently cancelled the visas of academic Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former Iranian national security adviser Ali Larijani, who was killed in a US-Israel airstrike last month, the State Department said.

Officials also revoked the visa of Ardeshir-Larijani’s husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The State Department said both individuals are now outside the United States, although their current location has not been disclosed. These steps add to a pattern of US visas measures aimed at people linked to Iran’s political and security circles.

US visas revoked for Iranian diplomats at UN mission

The recent cancellations follow actions taken in early December, before the latest anti-government protests in Iran and before the war began. At that time, the State Department revoked or declined to renew visas for several Iranian diplomats, including the deputy ambassador, and other staff at Iran’s mission to the United Nations.

Late last year, the United States also withdrew visas held by multiple diplomats and employees at the same UN mission, extending scrutiny beyond family members of senior Iranian figures. Iran and the United States do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, and the Iranian mission to the UN had not commented by Saturday on the latest US visas decisions.

Key individuals named in the recent US visas and green card actions are listed below, based on details shared by US officials and the State Department.

Commenting on Afshar, Rubio said on X that she is “an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the 'Great Satan’". Rubio added, “The Trump administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes." The Iranian mission to the UN has not replied publicly to these remarks.

Taken together, the arrests, deportation orders and diplomatic US visas withdrawals show a continuing US focus on people viewed as close to Iran’s leadership. The decisions affect family members of senior Iranian officials and personnel at Iran’s UN mission, and signal that earlier permissions to stay or work in the United States can be cancelled.