Second flight of Iranian deportees, carrying 55, has left US, Iran says

A second flight deporting 55 Iranians from the US to Iran has left amid ongoing US-Iran tensions. Tehran expressed concern over returning deportees, while Washington cited immigration violations. The move affects long-standing Iranian exile communities in the US

Tehran: A second flight carrying Iranians deported from the United States has left America, Iranian officials said, as Washington reportedly planned to send hundreds of prisoners back to the Islamic Republic.

The deportations come as tensions remain high between Iran and the US after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites during Tehran’s 12-day war with Israel in June.

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Activists abroad also have expressed concern about deportees returning to Iran, whose theocracy has been cracking down on intellectuals and executing prisoners at a rate unseen in decades.

A report by the Mizan news agency, the official mouthpiece of the Iran’s judiciary, quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mojtaba Shasti Karimi acknowledging the deportation of 55 Iranians.

“These individuals announced their willingness for return following continuation of anti-immigration and discriminative policy against foreign nationals particularly Iranians by the United States,” Karimi reportedly said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei also said Sunday there were plans for 55 Iranians to return to the Islamic Republic.

Based on the US claims, “the Iranians were repatriated because of legal reasons and breach of immigration regulations,” Baghaei said.

The US government did not immediately acknowledge the deportation flight and it wasn’t clear whether the plane had arrived yet in Tehran. The US Department of Homeland Security and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press early Monday.

The deportations represent a collision of a top priority of President Donald Trump — targeting illegal immigration — against a decades-long practice by the US of welcoming Iranian dissidents, exiles and others since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In September, Iranian officials acknowledged as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under the Trump administration policy. That month, the first such flight arrived in Tehran.

In the lead up to and after the 1979 revolution, a large number of Iranians fled to the US. In the decades since, the US had been sensitive in allowing those fleeing from Iran over religious, sexual or political persecution to seek residency.

Iran has maintained only those facing criminal charges face prosecution, while others can travel freely. However, Tehran has detained Westerns and others with ties abroad in the past to be exchanged in prisoner swaps.

Iran has criticised Washington for hosting dissidents and others in the past. US federal prosecutors have accused Iran of hiring hitmen to target dissidents as well in America.