The US State Department announced that federal agents arrested Hamideh Soleimani Afshar (niece of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani) and her daughter (his grandniece).
The arrests followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio's decision to revoke their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, also known as green cards. Both women are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Background: Who Was Qassem Soleimani?
Qassem Soleimani served as the head of the IRGC Quds Force, Iran's elite unit responsible for extraterritorial operations. The United States designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization and viewed Soleimani as a key architect of Iranian-backed terrorism, proxy militias, and attacks on US forces and allies across the Middle East. He was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
His family members, including relatives living abroad, have long drawn scrutiny due to their connections to the Iranian regime.
Official Reason for the Arrest and Revocation
According to the US State Department, the revocation and subsequent arrests stemmed from Hamideh Soleimani Afshar's public support for the Iranian regime. The department stated:
"As identified by both press reporting and her own social media commentary, Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran."
This action is part of a broader policy under Secretary Rubio targeting foreign nationals with ties to the "Iranian terror regime." In addition to revoking the green cards of Afshar and her daughter, the US also barred Afshar's husband from entering the United States.
The move aligns with the Trump administration's (in its second term) emphasis on national security, immigration enforcement, and restricting benefits for individuals linked to adversarial regimes accused of terrorism, human rights abuses, and repression of their own people.