The Trump administration announced on Saturday the arrests of two Los Angeles-based relatives of a high-ranking member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2020.<\/p>\n
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that federal authorities detained Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter Friday. Soleimani is the niece of Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani, who led Iran\u2019s Quds Force, an elite branch of the Iranian military responsible for the country\u2019s foreign operations.<\/p>\n
Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, were living a \u201clavish lifestyle\u201d in Los Angeles, according to Rubio. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile living in the United States, she 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 \u2018Great Satan,\u2019 and voiced her unflinching support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization,\u201d the secretary of State\u2019s office said in a news release. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,\u201d Rubio said in a post on X<\/a>. <\/p>\n Soleimani Afshar and Hosseiny had their lawful permanent resident status in the United States revoked, Rubio said. Soleimani Afshar\u2019s husband was also barred from entering the country.<\/p>\n Soleimani Afshar came to the U.S. in 2015 on a tourist visa and was granted asylum in 2019, according to Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. Soleimani Afshar became a green card holder in 2021 under the Biden administration, Bis said. <\/p>\n Since the green card was issued, she has traveled to Iran four times, Bis said. Hosseiny entered the U.S. on a student visa and was granted asylum in 2019. She became a green card holder in 2023, according to Bis.<\/p>\n