Overview
- Iranian officials said a charter carrying about 55 deportees left U.S. soil and is expected to reach Tehran after stopovers, with reports pointing to Kuwait and possibly Egypt and a departure from Mesa, Arizona.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to confirm operational details, citing the safety of the flight and its passengers.
- This is the second such transfer after an earlier flight moved roughly 120 people to Tehran via Qatar, and U.S. officials have indicated up to about 400 Iranians could be removed.
- Human-rights advocates warn returnees could face persecution in Iran, and one person who said he was slated for the flight told CNN he feared for his life if sent back.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry said communications for the transfers ran through interests sections or intermediaries, while the White House casts the removals as part of President Trump’s broader deportation drive.