Iranian deportation flight canceled after eight boarded in Arizona
Attorneys say the canceled flight would have been the first to send Iranians to Iran since the U.S.-Iran war began in February.
By William Turner ·
Eight Iranian nationals were loaded onto a deportation plane Sunday morning in Mesa, Arizona, before the flight was abruptly canceled. The aircraft was scheduled to travel to the country of Georgia and then to Pakistan, from where detainees would be transferred to Iran.
Ali Rahnama, an attorney with the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, confirmed the cancellation to reporters. He said the detainees were not given a specific reason for the change in plans. The fund filed emergency motions in court on behalf of some of the individuals slated for removal.
Court documents unsealed recently in a civil lawsuit reveal that the Trump administration discussed these deportation plans as early as mid-October. The lawsuit, filed in July, alleges that the U.S. government illegally shared confidential information about asylum seekers with Iranian officials. This disclosure occurred despite an active war between the two nations that began in February.
Since September 2025, more than 100 Iranian nationals have been deported to Iran across three separate flights. However, the new flight to be canceled Sunday would have been the first removal to Iran since the start of the current military conflict. In the week leading up to the flight, roughly a dozen detainees in immigration detention reported being told they were scheduled for the trip to Pakistan.
Yasmin Chubin, executive director of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, expressed concern over the timing of the removals. In a statement on Sunday, Chubin said the consequences of deportation could be irreversible, with individuals facing persecution, torture, or death. The group argued that the administration may have violated a court order requiring 24-hour notice of finalized deportation plans.
A senior official from the Iranian Interests Section in Washington visited the eight detainees who boarded the plane. The official told them the Iranian government would handle their transport from Pakistan to Iran. Rahnama noted that at least one of the eight had volunteered to return to Iran after nearly two years of detention, citing a desire to leave what he described as inhumane conditions.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the specific flight details. An agency spokesperson stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not discuss prospective removal operations, including flight schedules or passenger manifests. The spokesperson added that the administration is employing all lawful options to carry out the largest deportation operation in history.
