Immigration

Rubio Falsely Accuses Iranian Exiles of Being Soleimani's Nieces

The State Department and ICE claimed to have caught Islamic Republic nepo babies “enjoying a lavish lifestyle.” Instead, they tore apart an innocent family.

Matthew Petti | 4.23.2026 12:00 PM

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The arrest was supposed to humiliate and expose the hypocrisy of the Islamic Republic. Instead, it ruined the lives of a family fleeing from the theocracy.

On April 4, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he had revoked the green cards of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani's niece and grand-niece, who had pushed "propaganda for Iran's terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles" and were now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. The New York Post ran a cover story and several other articles about the "sex appeal" of Soleimani's alleged grand niece, featuring her bikini photos.

The story sounded too good to be true—because it wasn't. The alleged niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, are not actually related to the........

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