Emails reveal quiet US-Iran coordination on deportation flights

Newly released emails show that U.S. immigration officials coordinated directly with Iranian authorities to deport Iranian nationals in 2025, a working relationship that persisted even as tensions between the two countries escalated. The correspondence, made public by the National Iranian American Council, offers a detailed look at how more than 100 people were flown to Iran on three separate flights between September 2025 and January 2026.

The emails indicate that Iranian officials had a say in which individuals were placed on deportation lists. In one message, an ICE official noted, "Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases." Another email referenced a meeting with the "Director at the Iranian Embassy" and a subsequent request to "amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process."

Requests continued up to the day of departure. Three days before the first flight, the Iranian Embassy was still asking for additional people to be added. Some requests were denied, and at least one person who was not on the final manifest was boarded anyway, prompting confusion among U.S. officials.

The coordination was treated as a high priority within the Trump administration, even during the 12-day U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025. Emails show the acting ICE director at the time calling repatriation a "priority," and staff were urged to "identify a solution for this White House priority." One official acknowledged that removals would be difficult because Iran was not issuing travel documents and its airspace was closed during the bombing.

The arrangement marks a shift from decades of U.S. practice that offered refuge to Iranian dissidents and exiles. Human rights advocates have criticised the deportations, noting that Iran has a record of persecuting women, religious minorities, and political opponents.

The emails also show that Iranian officials met with detained individuals on several occasions. This echoes sworn statements from eleven detainees who said they were forced to meet with Iranian officials who knew details of their asylum claims. A lawsuit filed in July alleges that U.S. agencies illegally shared asylum information with Iran. The Department of Homeland Security has denied those allegations, calling them false.

It remains unclear whether those deported volunteered to return or were sent against their will. Some asylum-seekers were among those removed, according to previous reporting.