Iran announced on Tuesday that the United States is set to deport hundreds of Iranians back to Iran in the upcoming weeks, starting with 120 deportees expected to be flown out in the next day or two. This move, not officially acknowledged by the U.S. government, occurs amidst heightened tensions between the two nations following the American airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities in June.
Recent developments include the United Nations reintroducing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, further straining the Islamic Republic’s economy. The deportations reflect a clash between U.S. President Donald Trump’s emphasis on tackling illegal immigration and America’s historical practice of providing refuge to Iranian dissidents and exiles since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
According to Iranian state television, around 400 Iranians will be repatriated to Iran as part of the agreement with the U.S. Most of them entered the U.S. illegally from Mexico, while some encountered other immigration-related issues. The first group of deportees is expected to land in Iran after a stopover in Qatar, although Qatari authorities have yet to confirm this.
The U.S. State Department has not issued a response to inquiries regarding the matter. The reasons behind the deportations remain unclear, as the U.S. had previously been accommodating towards Iranians fleeing persecution on religious, sexual, or political grounds. However, recent statistics from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show that only 20 Iranians were deported in the 2024 fiscal year.
Although the specifics of the policy shift in the U.S. are uncertain, President Trump’s administration has taken a stricter stance against undocumented individuals residing in the country. Iranian officials have criticized the U.S. for harboring dissidents and have been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of targeting dissidents within America.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has expressed that the decision for deportations was made unilaterally by American authorities without consulting Iran. Contrary to this claim, The New York Times reported that the deportations were the result of extensive discussions between both nations over several months.
During the recent UN General Assembly meeting in New York, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian attempted to prevent the reinstatement of sanctions, but Ayatollah Ali Khamenei characterized diplomacy with the U.S. as a futile endeavor. Araghchi disclosed that Iran had engaged in direct communications with the U.S. government during the UN visit, a detail previously omitted during nuclear negotiations earlier in the year.