Washington announces having arrested close associates of former Iranian general Soleimani in the United States.

The US State Department announced on Saturday that the niece and great-niece of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike ordered by Donald Trump in 2020, have been arrested in the U.S.

“Last night, the niece and great-niece of the General of the Revolutionary Guards Qassem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following the revocation by Secretary of State Marco Rubio of their permanent residence status,” said a spokesperson for the State Department in a statement.

The niece, identified as Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, is accused by Washington of openly supporting the Islamic Republic. “While living in the United States, she propagated Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military sites in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the Great Satan, and expressed unwavering support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, a designated terrorist group,” the statement said.

The State Department also specified that Marco Rubio had revoked the “legal status” of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of Ali Larijani, former head of the Iranian National Security Council, in early April following a strike claimed by Israel in mid-March. Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband “are no longer in the United States and are prohibited from any future entry” into American soil.

“The Trump administration will not allow our country to host foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,” Marco Rubio stated.

However, Iranian media have disputed this version, claiming that the two arrested women have no connection to Qassem Soleimani’s family. According to the Fars agency, Zeinab Soleimani, the general’s daughter, declared that “the claim by the US State Department is a lie: the people arrested in the United States have no connection to Hajj Qassem’s family.”

The Iranian state television also mentioned another daughter of the general, Narjes Soleimani, a member of the Islamic Council of Tehran, who stated that “to this day, no member of the family or any close relative of the martyr Soleimani has resided in the United States.”

Qassem Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s strategy in the Middle East, was killed on January 3, 2020 in an American drone strike in Baghdad. He led the Qods Force, a unit responsible for foreign operations within the Revolutionary Guards.

AFP