The recent deportation of Iranian nationals from the United States to Tehran marks a significant shift in American immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, while also representing a rare moment of cooperation between two nations with a long history of hostility.
This development has triggered serious concerns from human rights organisations, particularly given Iran’s well-documented record of human rights abuses.
According to Iranian officials, a chartered flight carrying the first group of 55 deportees departed from a military airfield in Alexandria, Louisiana. The flight made a stop in Puerto Rico to collect additional individuals before proceeding to Doha, Qatar. There, the group was scheduled to transfer onto another flight bound for Tehran.
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Initially, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had informed Iranian authorities that 120 individuals would be deported on this flight. However, Iranian officials later stated that the remaining individuals would be repatriated on subsequent flights, as part of a larger plan to deport around 400 Iranians over the coming months.
This coordinated operation required months of back-channel communication—mostly conducted through Iran’s interests section in Washington—housed within the Pakistani embassy.
Since there are no formal diplomatic ties between the US and Iran, such cooperation appears highly unusual. In fact, the US allowed Iranian authorities to verify the identities of the deportees and issue travel documents for those who lacked them. Iranian officials later confirmed that the deportees had left Iran legally and would not face any problems after their return.
Human rights groups and members of the Iranian diaspora, however, fear that the deportees—especially those with political or religious affiliations that can be construed as anti-regime—are going to face serious trouble.
For instance, there are deportees who had entered the United States via the southern border, seeking asylum on grounds of religious conversion or political persecution. Their fate remains uncertain.
There is also the concern that Iranian security forces could act autonomously and may target deportees, notwithstanding government guarantees.
Those with a track record of dissent, conversion from Islam, or links to Western legal systems are considered especially vulnerable.
Historically, the United States has avoided deporting individuals to countries such as Iran, largely due to the absence of diplomatic relations and the recognised risk of persecution. Undocumented migrants from high-risk countries were typically held in long-term detention or released under supervision.
The latest shift shows a new strategy of the Trump administration, which is prioritising stricter immigration enforcement, irrespective of all other concerns.
Legal experts point out that the latest round of deportations violate international law: especially the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits deporting individuals to countries where they are likely to face persecution.
Since Iran has a track record of targeting journalists, activists, religious minorities, women’s rights advocates, and LGBTQ individuals, the deportation amounts to a clear case of human rights violation.
Meanwhile, the deportees also face a nation grappling with economic hardship, high unemployment, power shortages, and renewed international sanctions.
