Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved Friday to strip green cards from two relatives of the most feared Iranian military commander in recent history, and federal agents arrested them the same night.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, the niece and grandniece of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani, had been living in the Los Angeles area as lawful permanent residents. Rubio revoked their LPR status Friday, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took them into custody shortly after.
Qasem Soleimani commanded the IRGC’s Quds Force for more than two decades, overseeing Iran’s terror proxy network across the Middle East. He armed Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Shia militias responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers. He was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
What Afshar Was Doing While Living in the U.S.
The State Department was direct about why Afshar lost her green card. According to the State Department statement, while 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 “Great Satan,” and voiced open support for the IRGC, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization.
Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living in lavishly in the United States.
— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 4, 2026
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…
Her Instagram account, since deleted, documented all of it. She was, by the State Department’s account, an active propagandist for the regime he served.
Her husband, who was not detained, has been barred from entering the United States.
This Wasn’t the Only Action Rubio Took
Friday’s arrests were not the first move Rubio made this month. Earlier in April, he had already terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. Larijani served as Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council most recently from August 2025 until his assassination in an Israeli airstrike on March 17, 2026.
Both Ardeshir-Larijani and Motamedi left the country before any arrest was made. They are now permanently barred from reentry into the United States.
Friday's arrests are part of a broader push from Rubio, using the State Department to squeeze Iran on multiple fronts.
In February, Rubio also designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention, unlocking sanctions, export controls, and travel restrictions targeting individuals connected to Iran's practice of detaining American citizens and dual nationals as political leverage.
"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 in its statement.
Under the Trump administration, the State Department has cracked down on foreign nationals using American legal protections to cheer on the people trying to kill Americans.
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