In a recent crackdown, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has revoked the green cards of three Iranian nationals residing in the United States, linked to the regime in Tehran. This move follows the arrest of family members of the late Iranian military leader, Gen. Qasem Soleimani, just last week.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents apprehended Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, a psychology professor, and their son. Federal officials aim to deport them due to their associations with a prominent figure from the Iran hostage crisis, as announced by the State Department on Saturday.
Seyed Eissa Hashemi, aged 43, is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, infamously known as “Screaming Mary” for her role as a propaganda spokesperson during the 1979 storming of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Reports suggest Hashemi has been living in Los Angeles.
According to the State Department, Ebtekar was instrumental in producing propaganda that falsely depicted the humane treatment of hostages, manipulating interviews where American hostages were coerced into portraying their captors positively. Meanwhile, these hostages endured solitary confinement, blindfolding, starvation, and severe psychological and physical abuse, including beatings and mock executions.
Ebtekar later married one of the hostage takers and assumed significant roles within the Islamic regime that emerged after 1979. On Saturday, current regime members were engaged in discussions with U.S. officials in Pakistan to negotiate an end to ongoing tensions.
Currently, Hashemi serves as an adjunct associate professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
He graduated from the University of Tehran in 2006 then reportedly moved to the US in 2010 and pursued his PhD in organizational leadership from The Chicago School.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, 47, the niece of the terror mastermind and former Quds Force leader Soleimani, was being held in an ICE detention center in Texas following her arrest at her California home April 3.
Soleimani’s grandnice, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, 25, had been flaunting her luxe LA lifestyle and glam outfitson her social media accounts.
The US government also ended the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of top Iranian security official Ali Larijani, who was killed in the US-Israel attack last month.
Fatemeh and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi “are no longer in the United States and are barred from future entry,” according to the State Department.
