Emails Reveal ICE and Iran Coordinated to Deport Iranians from U.S.

On September 29, 2025, a U.S.-chartered flight carrying 54 Iranian nationals departed American soil, bound for Tehran via Qatar. The flight was the first of three operations that would ultimately return more than 100 Iranians to a government the United States was actively preparing to fight.[4]

The mechanics behind those flights have now been exposed. Hundreds of internal emails from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and released this week, reveal a quiet but active channel of coordination between Washington and Tehran.[2][3][4]

The disclosures offer a rare, granular look at how two hostile nations cooperated on immigration enforcement even as their broader geopolitical relationship deteriorated into open conflict. The emails show ICE officials communicating directly with Iranian representatives to arrange logistics, secure landing permits, and negotiate the specific names on passenger manifests.[1][2]

Because the United States and Iran severed formal diplomatic ties following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the coordination required bureaucratic workarounds. ICE officials routed their communications through Iran's Interests Section, which operates out of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, and relied on Qatari intermediaries to facilitate the charter flights through Doha.[1][4]

The emails indicate that Iranian officials exercised tangible influence over who was placed on the deportation flights. In late August 2025, roughly a month before the first flight, an unnamed ICE official wrote to colleagues confirming manifest changes. "Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases," the official stated.[1][2][4]

The collaboration continued up to the moment of departure. Just over a week later, another ICE official noted a meeting with the director of the Iranian Embassy, writing, "Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process." Three days before the September flight, the Iranian Embassy was still pushing to add three specific individuals to the passenger list.[1][2][4]

The push to deport Iranian nationals was treated as an urgent mandate at the highest levels of the agency. The emails suggest the pressure originated from the White House, with former acting ICE director Todd Lyons designating the repatriations a "priority" in directives sent to Marcos Charles, the agency's head of removal operations.[4]

Charles subsequently tasked his staff with drafting immediate removal plans for 58 Iranians who had final deportation orders. Another official, whose name was redacted in the FOIA release, urged colleagues to "identify a solution for this White House priority," underscoring the political weight attached to the operation.[4]

The timing of the coordination presents a stark geopolitical paradox. The bureaucratic push occurred during the summer of 2025, precisely when the U.S. and Israel were engaged in a deadly 12-day military exchange with Iran. ICE officials acknowledged internally that Iranians were actively fleeing their country due to the conflict, yet the deportation planning continued unabated.[2][4]

The operation marks a profound departure from decades of established U.S. policy. Since 1979, the United States has generally provided a safe haven for Iranian dissidents, religious minorities, and exiles fleeing the regime. Deporting individuals back to a government known for severe political repression has drawn fierce condemnation from human rights organizations.[2][4]

Advocates argue that the deportations endangered vulnerable people who had sought refuge. Jamal Abdi, president of the NIAC, stated that the emails undermine the administration's public assertions that its aggressive posture toward Iran is meant to support ordinary Iranians against a repressive regime.[4]

The controversy is compounded by allegations regarding the confidentiality of the deportees' asylum claims. A separate lawsuit filed in Washington alleges that ICE forced 11 detained Iranians to meet with Iranian government representatives, who reportedly possessed intimate details about their asylum applications.[3][4]

The Department of Homeland Security has vehemently denied these accusations. In a statement issued prior to the email release, the department called the allegations that it shared asylum application records with the Iranian government "FALSE," noting that federal regulations strictly prohibit the disclosure of such information to a deportee's home country.[4]

Despite the high-level prioritization, the execution of the flights was fraught with logistical hurdles. The initial September flight carried only 54 people—far fewer than the 120 expected—which prompted complaints from the Qatari Ministry of Interior. Internal emails also document the accidental inclusion of an unlisted Iranian national on the charter, prompting one official to ask how the individual "got through on the plane."[1]

The quiet cooperation ultimately collapsed under the weight of broader hostilities. The third and final deportation flight took place in January 2026. One month later, the launch of Operation Epic Fury and the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran severed the remaining fragile links, halting further deportations and closing the brief, controversial channel between ICE and Tehran.[1]