Christine Drews Sieger
Leaked internal emails reveal that US immigration authorities directly coordinated deportation flights with Iranian officials, allowing foreign representatives to alter passenger lists.
Federal immigration authorities worked hand in hand with Iranian representatives to organize several forced returns, leaked internal emails show.
The documents, released by the Washington-based advocacy group National Iranian American Council, show that federal agents arranged three separate flights between late 2025 and early 2026.
The covert push successfully returned over 100 Iranian citizens to their home country.
The correspondence suggests foreign officials held real sway over the passenger lists, according to Euronews.
American agents consistently accepted last-minute roster adjustments requested directly by foreign representatives.
“Per request from the Iran Embassy, I added a few cases,” an unnamed federal official wrote in late August. Shortly after, the same official adjusted the manifest again following a direct meeting with a high-ranking foreign representative.
Doubts over consent
Foreign officials previously claimed up to 400 citizens might return under a broader arrangement with White House leaders.
A large share of those targeted had crossed the southern US border through Mexico without legal papers.
However, serious questions remain about whether those individuals went back voluntarily.
According to earlier coverage by The New York Times, several deportees were active protection seekers who were sent back unwillingly.
Senior political leaders pushed the return program hard, even during a military conflict between both nations.
Federal officers went so far as to arrange private meetings inside US detention facilities between foreign agents and detainees, Euronews reports.
Tensions hit court
These leaked internal records match explosive claims raised in an unrelated federal lawsuit filed in July.
Sworn court statements from 11 detained Iranian citizens reveal they were coerced into face-to-face meetings with foreign officials during their detention.
The legal challenge claims American agencies broke federal regulations by handing confidential asylum files over to foreign operatives.
According to Euronews, federal rules strictly forbid sharing files that identify individuals seeking protection.
Homeland Security officials flatly rejected the court allegations. “These allegations that ICE shared asylum application records with the Iranian government are false,” the department said in a statement.
An unusual channel
The revelations also highlight just how extraordinary the cooperation was.
The United States and Iran have no formal diplomatic relations, yet the deportation effort created a rare working channel between officials from the two governments.
According to the Associated Press, the three deportation flights required coordination through Qatar, with the operation continuing despite rapidly deteriorating relations between Washington and Tehran.
The newly released emails provide the clearest picture yet of how that unusual channel was used to return more than 100 Iranians to the country.
