Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked the lawful permanent resident status of Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, the State Department announced Saturday. The department said federal agents arrested both women and that they are now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
The State Department identified Afshar as the niece of deceased Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani and her daughter as his grandniece. It said Afshar supported the Iranian regime while living in the United States and promoted pro-regime propaganda from inside the country.
The department said Afshar “promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the ‘Great Satan,’ and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
U.S. officials have repeatedly accused Iran and its proxies of using regional financial networks to fund Hezbollah and other terrorist operations.
In a Saturday post on X, Rubio said Afshar and her daughter had been “green card holders living lavishly in the United States.” He added that Afshar “is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the ‘Great Satan.’”
Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.
Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on…
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 4, 2026
Rubio wrote, “This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter’s legal status and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States.”
The State Department also said Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the United States. Earlier this month, Rubio terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The department said both are no longer in the United States and are barred from future entry.
Ali Larijani has previously surfaced in U.S. sanctions actions targeting senior Iranian officials and financial networks tied to regime repression and sanctions evasion.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the State Department revoked visas last year for foreign nationals accused of celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk, part of a broader effort to deny immigration benefits to foreign nationals accused of supporting violence against Americans.
“The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” the State Department said.
