Washington deports Iranians after deal with Tehran

Shafaq News – Washington

The United States has deported around 100 Iranians back to Iran, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing two senior Iranian officials involved in the talks and a US official familiar with the plans.

According to the report, a US-chartered flight departed Louisiana on Monday and was expected to land in Iran by way of Qatar on Tuesday.

The identities of those deported and the circumstances of their attempted entry into the US were not immediately disclosed. Iranian officials told the paper that the group included men and women, some of them couples. While some had volunteered to return after months in US detention centers, others had not.

In nearly all cases, asylum applications had been denied, or the individuals had not yet appeared before a judge for a hearing, the officials said.

One Iranian official told the Times that the foreign ministry in Tehran was coordinating the return and had given assurances that the deportees would not face difficulties upon arrival. However, he noted that many of them were disappointed, and some expressed fear about going back.