An attorney representing two Iranian nationals alleged on Wednesday that US authorities deported his clients to Iran without due process, placing them at risk of persecution, ABC News reported.
Ali Herischi, who represents several Iranians seeking asylum in the United States, told ABC News that two of his clients “disappeared” from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee locator system this week and were then deported to Iran.
He said one of them is a Christian convert who had arrived at the southern border earlier this year with his pregnant wife.
“We tried multiple times to ask for his appeal,” Herischi said. “And suddenly, without any information, we realized that he disappeared from [the ICE] detainee locator and then the news broke that Iranians had been deported back to Iran.”
Herischi said his client’s wife, who recently gave birth and remains in the United States, was able to briefly speak with her husband after his deportation. According to Herischi, the man told her that he was “shackled and handcuffed all the way to Iran.”
The attorney called the deportations “unconscionable,” adding, “It was so wrong, and unfortunately these are the same people that … US foreign policy tries to protect. These are those who stand up against the regime, who pay a price for standing up against the regime, and then you give them back directly to the hand of evil.”
ABC News reported that Herischi represents 25 people who are worried about being deported to Iran.
Earlier this week, Iranian state media quoted an official as saying about 120 Iranian nationals detained in the US would be returned in the coming days.
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that a chartered US flight carrying more than 100 Iranians departed Louisiana and was scheduled to arrive in Tehran via Qatar.
Iranian officials confirmed that 120 citizens are being repatriated, some voluntarily, while others had asylum claims denied.
For decades, the US has provided refuge to Iranians fleeing political or religious persecution. Human rights advocates warn that returnees -- including converts to Christianity, dissidents and activists -- could face serious risks on arrival in Iran.
The decision, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, extends to organizations across Iran’s energy, shipping, banking, and research sectors.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Bank Sepah and several firms involved in nuclear fuel production and uranium conversion are among the most significant entities blacklisted by Ankara.
Other sanctioned entities include Isfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center (NFRPC), Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC), First East Export Bank, Irano Hind Shipping Company, IRISL Benelux NV, Jaber Ibn Hayyan, Karaj Nuclear Research Center, Kavoshyar Company, Mesbah Energy Company, Modern Industries Technique Company, Novin Energy Company, Agriculture and Medical Nuclear Research Center, Pars Trash Company, Pishgam Energy Industries, South Shipping Line Iran and Tamas Company.
The decision was made official on Wednesday when it was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette — the government’s legal record of new laws and decrees.
The measure updates earlier Turkish actions from 2006, 2015, and 2021 that implemented United Nations Security Council resolutions on Iran.
The latest decree underscores Ankara’s alignment with a renewed global pressure campaign targeting Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
The coordinated steps follow the United Nations’ recent reimposition of sanctions against Tehran through the so-called snapback mechanism.
The sanctions had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, but European powers triggered the mechanism citing Tehran’s failure to comply with its obligations.
Turkey’s decision to free Iran’s assets signaled its support for the broader international effort to contain Iran’s nuclear and military programs, even as Ankara maintains complex trade and diplomatic ties with its eastern neighbor.
