Federal authorities have arrested the son and family of a prominent Iranian regime figure after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their green cards as part of an expanding effort to remove individuals with ties to the Tehran government.
The U.S. Department of State announced on Saturday that three Iranian nationals with significant ties to the Iranian government Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son were arrested by federal agents and have had their lawful permanent resident status revoked. Secretary of State Marco Rubio authorized the move, placing the trio in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending their removal, noting that Hashemi is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, the “notorious” spokeswoman during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis known as “Screaming Mary.”
This enforcement action follows the recent revocation of legal status for other high-profile relatives of the Iranian regime, including the niece of the late Major General Qasem Soleimani and the daughter of former security official Ali Larijani, as part of a broader crackdown on individuals linked to “anti-American terrorist regimes.” Reflecting the administration’s stance on national security, the Department emphasized that the family should “never have been allowed to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in our country,” particularly given Ebtekar’s history of crafting propaganda that “falsely showing the humane treatment of the hostages” while they were subjected to “physical and psychological terror.”