US deports three former IRGC members, ICE says
The United States has deported three former members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a post on X.
“Foreign terrorist organizers are NOT welcome in our country,” ICE wrote, announcing that Ehsan Khaledi, Mohammad Mehrani and Morteza Nasirikakolaki were returned to Iran over the weekend.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified the three men as former IRGC members and said they were among 14 Iranian nationals on a deportation flight to Tehran, the first such flight since widespread anti-government protests in Iran were met with a deadly crackdown.
According to DHS, Mehrani and Khaledi entered the United States illegally in Southern California in 2024, while Nasirikakolaki entered illegally in November 2024 and was apprehended by Border Patrol near San Luis, Arizona. The White House said all individuals deported had final removal orders issued by a federal judge.
The IRGC is Iran’s elite military force, separate from the regular army and reporting directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The United States designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, citing its role in supporting militant groups and carrying out operations targeting US interests and allies.
The deportations come amid sharply rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, as the Trump administration has signaled it is prepared to use military force if Iran continues executions and violent repression linked to nationwide protests. The United States has also stepped up its military presence in the region in recent weeks.
