By AMIR VAHDAT, Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Tuesday that 120 Iranians detained in the United States for illegally entering in the country will be returned to Iran in the coming days.
As many as 400 Iranians would be returning to Iran as part of the deal with the U.S., Iranian state television said, citing Hossein Noushabadi, director-general for parliamentary affairs at Iran’s Foreign Ministry. He said the majority of those people had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally, while some faced other immigration issues.
The U.S. has not acknowledged striking a deportation deal with Iran.
The New York Times first reported the deportations.
Noushabadi said the first planeload of Iranians would arrive in one or two days after stopping over in Qatar on the way. Authorities in Qatar have not acknowledged that
In the lead up to and after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, a large number of Iranians fled to the United States. In the decades since, the U.S. had been sensitive in allowing those fleeing from Iran over religious, sexual or political persecution to seek residency. Iran has criticized Washington for hosting dissidents and others in the past.
It’s unclear exactly what has changed now in American policy. However, U.S. President Donald Trump since reentering the White House has cracked down on those living in the U.S. illegally.
Noushabadi said that American authorities unilaterally made the decision without consultations with Iran.
