In a recent enforcement action targeting individuals linked to Iran’s political establishment, the United States announced the revocation of green card statuses for three individuals associated with a prominent figure from the Iran hostage crisis. This announcement was made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday.
The individuals affected are Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son, who are currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as they await deportation. This development occurs amid ongoing ceasefire discussions between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, aimed at resolving a six-week conflict.
Hashemi and his family entered the United States in 2014 during the Obama administration and obtained lawful permanent resident status through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program in 2016. This was shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took control of two U.S. Navy vessels and detained ten sailors, according to the State Department’s statement.
Further exploring family ties, the State Department revealed that Eissa Hashemi is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, a notable Iranian political figure during the hostage crisis. Ebtekar, often referred to in media as ‘Screaming Mary,’ served as the spokesperson for the group of students who occupied the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, a time marked by intense anti-American sentiment following the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
The student group, known as the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, held 52 Americans captive for a duration of 444 days, marking a significant diplomatic crisis that heavily influenced U.S.-Iran relations for many years. The State Department characterized Ebtekar as a principal propagandist who played a significant role in “perpetrating” the crisis.
As a chief spokesperson for the hostage-takers, Ebtekar was instrumental in crafting narratives that portrayed the hostages’ treatment in a positive light, even staging interviews where captives were coerced to speak favorably about their experience.
However, the reality for the hostages was grim, as they were subjected to solitary confinement, blindfolding, malnutrition, and various forms of physical and psychological abuse, including beatings and mock executions.
Ebtekar later married one of the individuals involved in the hostage-taking and held several high-ranking positions in the Iranian government. She became the first woman to serve as vice president of Iran, overseeing the Department of Environment from 1997 to 2005 and the vice presidency for Women and Family Affairs from 2017 to 2021.
In a related action last week, the State Department also revoked the legal status of the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC commander killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq in 2020. Hamideh Afshar Soleimani and her daughter are now in ICE custody.
Additionally, the green cards of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani, who died in Israeli airstrikes last month, were also revoked. She and her spouse, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, are barred from returning to the U.S., as stated in the release.
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