US deporting 120 Iranians after the deal struck with Tehran, says Iran

Iran says 120 of its citizens are deported to the United States as part of President Donald Trump’s repression in immigration.

“These persons will return to the country within the next one or two days,” Iranian Foreign Ministry official, Josin Nusan Nushabadi, told the Iranian State Agency Tasnim.

He said that most of those who flew to Iran, through Qatar, have entered the United States illegally – mainly through Mexico.

In recent years, there has been an increased number of Iranians entering the United States, including many of them who are afraid of pursuit at home.

The BBC also addressed the White House and the US State Department for comment.

Noushabadi said some of those who have been deported, held valid residence permits in the US, adding that US officials have sought their consent to return them.

He called on the US government “to respect the rights of Iranian migrants and their citizenship rights under international law.”

The New York Times, citing two senior Iranian employees familiar with the question, said the flight of deportments is expected to arrive in Iran later on Tuesday.

Iran works with the US on a deal to remove Iranian citizens through its section of interests of the United States at the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran.

This is a rare case of cooperation between Iran and the United States that have no official diplomatic ties.

Noushabadi said that as part of the deal, about 400 Iranian citizens are expected to be deported from the United States, with this flight being considered the first phase.

The United States has already reached bilateral deportation agreements with a number of countries.

Earlier this year, Panama and Costa Rica agreed to take several hundred African and Asian migrants from the United States.

President Trump has repeatedly promised to reduce the flow of immigration to the United States and plans to deport a record number of people living in the country without legal status – including in countries with controversial human rights records.

He promised to “launch the biggest program to deport criminals in history” – but it is not known whether Iranian citizens who have been deported have criminal files.

Trump’s moves have caused strong criticism from human rights and abroad human rights groups, which say that migrants are at risk of being sent to countries where they can be injured.

In Iran, the human rights protocol is heavily criticized by the rights groups, with UN experts also warning on Monday that there was a “dramatic escalation” of using the death penalty this year.

The Iranian government has previously defended the use of executions, stating that it is limited to the “most serious crimes” – although human rights groups dispute this.