Among those apprehended is the niece of the Iranian general, identified as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar. She is accused of openly supporting the Islamic Republic.
The US State Department announced on Saturday that they had arrested in the United States the niece and grandniece of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a 2020 drone strike ordered by Donald Trump. “Last night, the niece and grandniece of the General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qassem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following the revocation by Secretary of State Marco Rubio of their permanent residency status,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
This niece, identified as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, is accused by Washington of openly supporting the Islamic Republic. “While living in the United States, she promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks on American soldiers and military sites in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and expressed unwavering support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, a group designated as a terrorist organization,” the statement said.
“Legal Status” revoked
The State Department also specified that Marco Rubio revoked the “legal status” of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Ali Larijani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, back in mid-March in a strike claimed by Israel.
Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband “are no longer in the United States and are banned from any future entry” into American soil, the State Department added. “The Trump administration will not allow our country to host foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” Marco Rubio stated.
/2026/04/05/69d21f30b4675401869415.jpg "Hours hidden in a crevasse, hundreds of soldiers mobilized, the CIA involved … What we know")
