Soleimani's niece and niece's daughter (granddaughter) have been arrested by federal security officials.
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Two family members of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in Iraq, have been arrested in the United States, the US State Department said on Saturday.
The niece and granddaughter of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani have been arrested by federal security forces, the US State Department said in a statement.
The niece of the deceased is said to be Hamid Soleimani Afsar. The name of Soleimani Afsar's daughter was not mentioned.
The statement said, "Both are currently in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Soleimani, who headed the IRGC's foreign affairs branch, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, in January 2020, the last year of US President Donald Trump's first term in the White House. The US State Department said, “Both press reports and his own social media posts confirm that Soleimani is a vocal supporter of the current Iranian regime.”
They praised Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and denounced the US as the “Great Satan,” the statement said.
Soleimani’s husband has also been barred from entering the US.
The daughter and son-in-law of another former Iranian security chief, Ali Larijani, who was killed, have also been stripped of their legal status.
The statement said, “Both are not currently in the United States and are barred from future entry.”
Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was killed in an Israeli strike on March 17.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed their arrest in a post on X, saying, “The Trump administration will not allow our country to become home to foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”
