In a first round, 120 Iranian citizens are being deported from the USA these days, according to a representative of Iran's Foreign Ministry to the regime-loyal news agency Tasnim.
According to AFP, a total of 400 Iranians are being expelled, most of them people who entered the USA illegally. The agreement comes after months of discussions between arch-enemies USA and Iran, which for years have had minimal diplomatic contact.
The New York Times describes it as the Trump administration's so far most powerful effort when it comes to deportations to countries with inadequate human rights conditions. Earlier this year, a group of Iranians in the USA, many of them converted Christians who risk persecution in their home country, were instead deported to Costa Rica and Panama.
Iran has for decades persecuted, imprisoned and killed dissenters, including women's rights activists, political dissidents, journalists, LGBTQ people and religious minorities. A representative of the regime in Tehran tells The New York Times that those now being deported have been assured that they will not have problems upon their return, but many of them say they are nonetheless afraid and disappointed.
