55 Iranians Deported From The US

UNSPLASH/mostafa ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - The second flight carrying deported Iranians from the United States has taken off from America. Washington reportedly plans to repatriate hundreds of prisoners to the Islamic Republic.

This deportation comes amid rising tensions between Iran and the US after the United States bombed Iranian nuclear sites during Tehran's 12-day war with Israel in June.

Activists abroad expressed concern about deportations returning to Iran, whose theoretics have cracked down on intellectuals and executed detainees with unprecedented levels for decades.

The report, published on Monday, December 8, by the Mizan news agency, quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry official Mojtaba Shasti Karimi as saying 55 Iranians were deported from America.

"These people expressed their willingness to return after the continued anti-immigration and discriminatory policies against foreign nationals, especially Iranians, by the United States," Karimi said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei also said on Sunday there were plans for 55 Iranians to return to the Islamic Republic.

Based on US claims, "the Iranians were repatriated for legal reasons and violations of immigration regulations," Baghaei said.

The US government did not immediately recognize the deportation flight and it is unclear whether the plane had arrived in Tehran.

The deportation is a collision between President Donald Trump's top priority, namely eradicating illegal immigration with US practices that have been going on for decades accepting dissidents, refugees, and others from Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.