U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration held secret talks with Iran about deporting Iranian citizens while a war between Washington and Tehran is ongoing. This is shown by court documents obtained by The Associated Press and unsealed on Thursday.
The documents indicate that, by mid-October, U.S. authorities had planned to send Iranian citizens back through an unnamed third country. It is unclear when these deportations were supposed to take place. The authorities had maintained contact with Iranian officials to obtain travel documents and discuss possible ways of carrying out the returns.
Court requires advance notification
Judge Ana Reyes ordered the government to notify the court within 24 hours after finalizing plans to deport Iranian citizens to Iran or another country. In addition, the administration must provide written notice five days before carrying out any such deportation.
During the October 15 hearing, Reyes expressed serious concern about the government’s intentions.
„And you’re telling me that the United States of America is going to send people back to this region, where, as we both know and as would be clear to anyone, they face at the very least a serious risk of near-certain death,“ the judge said.Justice Department representative Dimitar Georgiev-Remel replied: „Yes, Your Honor.“ According to him, „the government is carrying out lawful deportation orders.“ He said that no specific date had been set for the deportations.
Case also concerns information about asylum seekers
The revelations are part of an ongoing case alleging that U.S. immigration authorities provided the Iranian government with confidential information about Iranian citizens who had sought asylum in the United States. According to the court documents filed in the case, this would violate federal immigration regulations and put numerous Iranians at risk.
The Department of Homeland Security denies that it handed over documents from asylum applications to Tehran. The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deportation plans.
The lawsuit describes coordinated actions by U.S. and Iranian authorities to establish the identities of Iranians detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to pressure them to return to their homeland.
More than 100 Iranians returned on three flights
Hundreds of emails exchanged between U.S. immigration officials show that the two sides cooperated in organizing three flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026. More than 100 Iranian citizens were returned to Iran on those flights.
Deportations to Iran have traditionally been rare because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran and the risk of returnees being persecuted. During Trump’s second term, U.S. authorities have stepped up efforts to return migrants to countries that refuse to accept their own citizens or maintain strained relations with the United States.
In some cases, deported migrants have been sent to third countries with which they have no ties. In June, an Iranian woman was among about two dozen migrants deported by the United States to the Central African Republic.
Sources: bta.bg, apnews.com