US arrests relatives of slain IRGC general Soleimani for supporting Iran’s regime

State Department says Hamideh Soleimani Afshar promotes Iranian propaganda while enjoying ‘lavish lifestyle’ in LA; legal status of Larijani’s daughter, son-in-law also terminated

Two family members of slain Iranian general Qassem Soleimani have been arrested in the United States after their residency permits were rescinded, the US State Department said in a statement Saturday.

It identified the niece as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and described her as an “outspoken” supporter of Iran’s “terrorist regime.” Her daughter was not named. Soleimani Afshar’s husband has also been barred from entering the United States, the statement said.

“Last night, the niece and grand niece of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qassem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s termination of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status,” said the statement.

Soleimani Afshar and her daughter “are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the State Department said, without specifying their whereabouts.

Earlier this month, the State Department said Rubio also terminated the legal status and barred the future entry of the daughter and son-in-law of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, who was killed by the IDF last month amid the war that the US and Israel launched on Iran on February 28.

“The Trump administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” wrote Rubio on X.

Qassem Soleimani, the longtime leader of the IRGC’s Quds Force, was killed in a US drone strike while he was in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in January 2020, during US President Donald Trump’s first term.

As head of the IRGC’s overseas arm, Soleimani played a key role in forming the “Axis of Resistance” network of regional terror proxies, including Gaza’s Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

His niece, Soleimani Afshar, was “an outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran,” said the State Department, citing press reports and her own social media.

“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 her unflinching support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organization,” the statement said.

“Afshar Soleimani pushed this propaganda for Iran’s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles, as attested to by her frequent posting on her recently deleted Instagram account,” it added.