Rubio says revoked visas of ex-Iranian vice president’s relatives

(Al Jazeera) -  US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has revoked the residency statuses of several individuals related to Iran’s former Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar.

In a post on X, Rubio announced he terminated the visas of Ebtekar’s son, Eissa Hashemi, along with his wife and son, saying they “should never have been allowed to benefit from the extraordinary privilege of living in our country”. The individuals are currently in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pending their deportation, Rubio said.

The move comes after Rubio also stripped the residency statuses of several Iranian women earlier this month, claiming they were relatives of the late Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani. Iranian media quoted Soleimani’s daughter, Zeinab Soleimani, as issuing a denial that the two women arrested had any ties whatsoever to the late Quds Force leader.