Federal agents have arrested three Iranian nationals in Los Angeles after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their lawful permanent resident status. The individuals—Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son—are now in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pending deportation.
Hashemi is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, a prominent Iranian politician known as 'Screaming Mary' for her role as a spokesperson during the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Tehran. The family entered the U.S. in 2014 on visas issued by the Obama administration and obtained green cards in 2016 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
Immediate Action & Core Facts
Rubio announced the termination of the family's green cards, citing their ties to the Iranian regime. The State Department stated that the Trump administration will not allow the U.S. to become a home for individuals linked to anti-American terrorist regimes. The family has been living in Los Angeles, where Hashemi and his wife worked as professors.
Deeper Dive & Context
Background on Masoumeh Ebtekar
Ebtekar gained international notoriety as the English-language spokesperson for the Iranian students who stormed the U.S. Embassy in 1979. She frequently justified the hostages' captivity and denounced the United States during the crisis. Ebtekar later served as Iran's vice president for women and family affairs from 2017 to 2021.
Visa and Green Card Process
The family's visas were approved in 2014, and they received lawful permanent resident status in 2016 through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The Trump administration ended this program in December 2025, following earlier calls to terminate it after the 2017 New York truck attack by Sayfullo Saipov, who entered the U.S. via the same program.
Public and Political Reactions
Public petitions and backlash in the U.S. demanded the family's removal, citing their affluent lifestyle in Southern California. Rubio emphasized that the family should never have been granted residency, calling their presence in the U.S. an 'extraordinary privilege.'
Legal and Policy Implications
The revocation of the family's green cards follows previous efforts by the Trump administration to remove Iranian nationals with alleged ties to Tehran. The State Department has also revoked visas of Iranian diplomats and staff members at Iran's mission to the United Nations.
The family's detention and pending deportation mark the latest action in a broader U.S. policy aimed at restricting the residency of individuals linked to foreign regimes deemed hostile to American interests.