On Sunday, the Iranian government announced that it would accept a group of deportees from the United States who had been held for several months in an immigration detention facility.
This marks the third instance of Iran receiving deportees since President Donald Trump took office again in 2025, and it’s the first time following the government’s violent crackdown on citizens protesting this month.
The announcement came from Abolfazl Mehrabadi, the head of the Iranian Interests Office in Washington, D.C. As Iran lacks direct diplomatic ties with the U.S., his office operates through the Pakistani Embassy.
Mehrabadi mentioned that Iranian state media reported the deportees would leave from Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona, traveling back to Iran via Egypt and Kuwait. He indicated that his office collaborated with U.S. immigration officials to secure the required travel documents.
According to Iranian media, the deportees were allegedly “held for over two months in overcrowded conditions lacking basic hygiene and medical care,” leading to a surge in viral infections—more than half reportedly suffered from serious health issues.
The Iranian Interests Bureau claimed they needed to “step in” to provide “necessary clothing and supplies” before the deportation flight, as the Iranian nationals had been “stripped of their dignity and possessions.”
Initially, around 40 Iranian detainees were expected to leave the U.S., but due to adverse weather and a measles outbreak, that number was cut down to 20, as stated by Mehrabadi.
With numerous Iranians currently imprisoned for protesting and facing potential death sentences, the Iranian regime has a vested interest in highlighting the harsh realities of detention in other countries.
U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported that 6,126 individuals have been killed and over 41,800 arrested during the regime’s crackdowns, including 86 children and 49 civilians not participating in the protests.
Some critics argue that the Trump administration is effectively sending Iranians back into the arms of their oppressive government.
Last week, Representatives Dave Minn (D-CA) and Yasmin Ansari (D-AZ) expressed their strong concerns regarding the administration’s deportation plans, particularly highlighting the risk for “LGBTQ Iranians facing death sentences.”
Democratic representatives noted they had previously sent a letter in October to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem asking for details about these deportations, given Iran’s notorious record of human rights violations, but they received no substantial responses.
On Monday, it was reported that two gay Iranian men seeking asylum in the U.S. were not included in the latest deportation flight. One man received a temporary stay of removal from the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, while the other was isolated due to a measles case.
These men fled Iran after being arrested by the country’s “morality police” last year, as explained by Rebecca Wolf, an attorney with the American Immigration Council. She emphasized that their claims of persecution are serious and should lead to straightforward asylum cases. However, they were denied last spring due to lack of proper legal representation.
“Until Sunday morning, we thought there wouldn’t be any flights that day. This underscores the communication issues between DHS and Congress,” Wolf noted.
According to CNN, only 14 Iranians were actually on the deportation flight, contrary to earlier claims that it involved “dozens,” with many seats at an Arizona detention center left unfilled because of a measles outbreak.
A gay man whose deportation was unexpectedly delayed made a personal appeal to President Trump through CNN, asking to remain anonymous out of fear for his safety.
“We aren’t bad people. We love this country. If we could live here, we would cherish it more than our homeland, which is occupied and in ruins, being destroyed by the Iranian government,” he stated.
On another note, U.S. Central Command confirmed that the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had arrived in the Middle East through the Indian Ocean. U.S. officials noted that the strike group may still be en route to its final destination.
Last Thursday, President Trump instructed the fleet to position itself near Iran, mentioning that the U.S. was “monitoring the fleet closely” and suggesting that military action could be possible if Iran resumed mass executions or began enriching uranium for nuclear weaponry.
