WASHINGTON: US federal agents arrested the “niece and grandniece” of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Qasem Soleimani on Saturday after revoking their lawful permanent resident (Green Card) status, the State Department confirmed.

But news agencies quoted a daughter of the slain general as saying her family has no relative in the United States.

Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the official US statement added.

The Trump Administration also made clear that it “will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

The State Department said Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of Iran’s regime, celebrating attacks on American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praising Iran’s new supreme leader, denouncing the US as the “Great Satan,” and voicing unflinching backing for the IRGC, a US-designated terrorist organisation. US officials noted she promoted these views on social media while living a comfortable life in Los Angeles, as seen on her nowdeleted Instagram account. Afshar’s husband has also been barred from entering the United States.

The slain general’s daughter says her family has no relative in US

Earlier this month, the State Department also revoked the legal status of Fatemeh ArdeshirLarijani, daughter of former Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. Both have left the US and are barred from future entry.

Ali Larijani, an architect of Iran’s security policy, was killed in mid-March by a US-Israeli air attack.

Qasem Soleimani, killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020, was the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, responsible for Iran’s military operations abroad and widely blamed by Washington for orchestrating attacks on US and allied forces across the Middle East.

His death marked a defining escalation in US–Iran tensions.

The arrests come amid a fierce war between the United States, Israel and Iran, triggered on February 28 when US and Israeli forces launched coordinated airstrikes across Iran. Those attacks have since expanded into a broader conflict involving repeated US and Israeli air operations, Iranian missile and drone retaliation, and severe fighting across multiple fronts.

The US Department of State expressed appreciation to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for their continued cooperation in keeping Americans safe.

In his second term in office, Trump’s administration has stepped up deportation attempts against immigrants, calling them threats. Rights advocates have raised concerns about free speech and due process.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2026