Brandon Livesay
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The niece and grand-niece of the deceased commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Gen Qasem Soleimani, have been arrested, the State Department has said.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter's lawful US permanent resident status was revoked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a statement released on Saturday said.
In a post on social media, Rubio said the two women were in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pending removal from the country.
The State Department said Soleimani Afsha is an "outspoken supporter of the totalitarian, terrorist regime in Iran".
The statement also added that Soleimani Afshar had promoted "Iranian regime propaganda" on her social media account.
Soleimani Afshar's husband has also been barred from the US, the statement said. The state department did not name Soleimani Afshar's daughter or husband.
Rubio also shared a statement on X, saying Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were "green card holders living lavishly in the United States".
Gen Qasem Soleimani spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East as head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
The 62-year-old was killed at Baghdad airport, along with other Iran-backed militia figures.
"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," Trump said.
He added that Iran would have been "perhaps in a far better, stronger position" in the war if Soleimani was still alive.
