US deports 2nd charter flight of Iranian nationals to Tehran: Report

By Gizem Nisa Demir

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US deported a second chartered planeload of Iranian nationals to Iran on Sunday, marking another rare coordinated return between Washington and Tehran despite decades without diplomatic ties, The New York Times reported.

According to two Iranian officials cited by the newspaper, the flight carrying about 50 Iranian citizens took off from Mesa, Arizona, alongside deportees from Arab countries and Russia, with stops in Egypt and Kuwait before continuing to Tehran.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry consular director, Mojtaba Shasti Karimi, told local media that Tehran was expecting around 55 returnees, saying they had agreed to return because of “the racist and anti-immigration policies” of the US government and citing reports of “inhumane” treatment in US immigration custody.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declined to comment, while a US official described the operation as a routine deportation flight.

As reports of the flight emerged, Representative Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian-American Democrat from Arizona, warned on social media that it could include “vulnerable individuals who could face persecution” if sent back to Iran.

The flight follows a similar deportation in September, part of the Trump administration’s push for large-scale removals, as reported by The New York Times.