U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials coordinated three deportation flights to Iran between September 2025 and January 2026 [1], [3].
These operations are significant because they reveal a level of cooperation between U.S. immigration authorities and the Iranian government that allowed Tehran to influence which migrants were returned to the country.
Internal emails show that ICE officials worked with Iranian authorities to organize the flights in September 2025, December 2025, and January 2026 [3]. According to the records, the U.S. government accepted last-minute changes to the passenger lists based on input from Iran [1], [2].
More than 100 Iranian nationals were deported across the three flights [4]. The coordination involved Iranian requests for the return of specific nationals, and U.S. officials complied with those requests [4], [5].
The emails indicate that the process was not a unilateral U.S. action but a coordinated effort where Iran requested the return of its citizens [4]. This cooperation occurred despite the complex diplomatic relationship between the two nations, a dynamic that typically limits direct administrative collaboration.
ICE officials managed the logistics of the flights while accommodating the preferences of the Iranian government regarding the identity of the deportees [1], [2]. The documents reveal that the U.S. agency allowed Iranian authorities to shape the final lists of individuals sent back to the country [2].
“US officials coordinated three deportation flights to Iran between September 2025 and January 2026.”
This coordination suggests a pragmatic, albeit opaque, administrative channel between the U.S. and Iran focused on migration management. By allowing Tehran to influence deportation lists, the U.S. may have prioritized the removal of nationals over strict adherence to independent selection processes, potentially exposing deportees to targeted risks upon their return to Iran.
