US detains relatives of Soleimani ‘living lavishly’ in America

Qasem Soleimani, who led Iran’s elite Quds Force and oversaw military operations across the Middle East, was killed in 2020 in a US airstrike.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The US State Department said Saturday that authorities have arrested the niece and grand-niece of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani and moved to revoke their legal residency status, citing alleged support for the Iranian regime.

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, both lawful permanent residents of the United States, had their status revoked and are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal proceedings.

Rubio wrote on social media that the two women were “green card holders living lavishly in the United States.”

The State Department said Soleimani Afshar was an “outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran” and had promoted “Iranian regime propaganda” on social media.

The statement added that Soleimani Afshar’s husband has also been barred from entering the United States, though neither he nor the daughter was identified by name.

Narjes Soleimani, the daughter of Qasem Soleimani, rejected the allegations and denied any familial connection between those detained and her father.

“The individuals arrested in the US have no connection whatsoever to Martyr Soleimani, and the claims made by the US State Department are false,” she said. She added that the US had “become so weak and insignificant that by fabricating lies against a great figure.”

Qasem Soleimani, who led Iran’s elite Quds Force and oversaw military operations across the Middle East, was killed in 2020 in a US airstrike at Baghdad airport ordered by US President Donald Trump. The strike also killed other Iran-backed militia figures.

Trump referenced the operation during a national address on Wednesday, saying, “I killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani in my first term. He was an evil genius, brilliant person, a horrible human being; however, the father of the roadside bomb, and he lived just horrible, what he did.”

He added that Iran would have been “perhaps in a far better, stronger position” in the war if Soleimani were still alive.