US Arrests Relatives of Late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani

U.S. Federal agents have arrested Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, in Los Angeles. The two women are the niece and grandniece of the late Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was killed in a U.S. Air strike in Iraq in 2020.

The arrests occurred on Friday, April 4, 2026, following the decision by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke the lawful permanent resident status of both women. According to the U.S. State Department, the two are currently in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending their removal from the country.

Basis for Status Revocation

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Hamideh Soleimani Afshar entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and became a green card holder in 2021. However, during a naturalization application in 2025, Afshar revealed she had visited Iran four times since receiving her green card. The DHS asserted that these trips demonstrated her asylum claims were fraudulent.

Sarinasadat Hosseiny, Afshar’s daughter, arrived in the U.S. In 2015 on a student visa, received asylum in 2019, and was granted a green card in 2023.

Beyond the asylum claims, U.S. Officials allege that Soleimani Afshar is an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime. The State Department claims she celebrated military strikes against American personnel, referred to the United States as the Great Satan, and praised Iran’s new supreme leader following the deaths of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a large-scale air attack at the start of a war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran that began in late February 2026.

Official Statements

Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the arrests in a social media post, stating that the two women had been living lavishly in the United States.

The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes

Marco Rubio

Rubio further noted that the husband of Hamideh Soleimani Afshar has also been barred from entering the United States. The State Department has not announced any formal charges against Afshar or her daughter.

Responses and Context

The daughter of the late General Qasem Soleimani has disputed the claims made by the U.S. State Department. She described the allegations as false and stated that the arrested individuals have no connection whatsoever to her father.

The arrests take place amid broader efforts by the Trump administration to revoke the legal immigration status of individuals determined to be aligned with enemies of the United States. This action follows the escalation of conflict in the Middle East, where U.S. And Israeli militaries have been waging war against Iran since February 2026, citing Iran’s history of sponsoring terrorism.

General Qasem Soleimani, the most powerful military commander in Iran at the time of his death, was killed in January 2020 during a targeted drone strike ordered by then-President Donald Trump. U.S. Officials justified that action at the time by stating it was necessary to prevent an imminent attack.