Newly Released Emails Detail ICE-Iran Coordination On 2025-26 Deportation Flights
Hundreds of internal ICE emails released Aug. 18, 2026 show the agency coordinated with Iranian officials on three deportation flights that returned more than 100 Iranians to Iran in 2025-26.[1]
The documents include messages in which an ICE official wrote, "Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases." CBS News The emails also describe meetings with the "Director at the Iranian Embassy" and requests to amend and expedite passenger manifests.[1] Officials used Qatari intermediaries to charter flights through Doha, and at least one person not on the final manifest nonetheless flew home, with an ICE official writing, "I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane." CBS News
On Aug. 18, 2026 the National Iranian American Council released the emails, which lay out correspondence tied to flights in September 2025, December 2025 and January 2026.[1] The records show the Iranian Embassy pressed for added passengers as late as Sept. 26, 2025, and that some same-day Iranian requests were denied.[1] The exchanges also show ICE officials continued to prioritize arranging removals even as they noted Iranians were fleeing amid a deadly 12-day war involving the U.S. and Israel in June 2025.[1]
Human-rights advocates criticized the deportations as a sharp break from the United States' post-1979 record of sheltering Iranian exiles and dissidents, and warned returning people to Iran face persecution for politics, religion or gender.[1] The reporting was carried in multiple outlets, including MS NOW, which published a related account of the newly released emails.[2]
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📌 Key Facts
- Hundreds of internal ICE emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council and released Tuesday, August 18, 2026, provide a detailed play-by-play of three deportation flights returning more than 100 Iranians to Iran in September 2025, December 2025 and January 2026.
- The documents show an [Iran Embassy] (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-iran-deport-more-than-100-iranians-to-iran-2025-2026/) request influenced passenger selection, with an ICE official writing in late August 2025, "Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases."
- About a week later, an ICE official reported meeting with the "Director at the Iranian Embassy" and wrote, "Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process," while on September 26, 2025 the embassy was still requesting three additional people be added and same-day Iranian passenger requests were sometimes denied.
- At least one individual not listed on the final manifest sent to Qatar’s Interior Ministry was nevertheless boarded on a flight, with an ICE official writing, "I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane."
- The correspondence describes both indirect communications relayed via Qatari officials who helped charter flights through Doha and direct contacts with an "Iranian delegation" and the Iranian Embassy director.
- Emails indicate ICE continued to prioritize coordinating the deportation flights even as officials acknowledged Iranians were fleeing Iran amid the deadly 12-day war with the U.S. and Israel in June 2025.
- Iranian officials publicly said in September 2025 that as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under an agreement with the Trump administration, saying most had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally and some had other immigration issues.
- The article emphasizes the practice marked a departure from the U.S.'s post-1979 pattern of offering refuge to Iranian exiles and dissidents and notes human-rights activists' criticism of returning people to a country known for persecuting women, religious minorities and political opponents.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
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- Hundreds of internal ICE emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council and released Tuesday, August 18, 2026, provide a detailed play-by-play of three deportation flights returning more than 100 Iranians to Iran in September 2025, December 2025 and January 2026.
- Emails show an ICE official wrote in late August 2025, 'Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases,' indicating Iran had influence over who was placed on the September flight.
- About a week later, an ICE official reported meeting with the 'Director at the Iranian Embassy' and wrote, 'Iran has requested that I amend the previous manifest and expedite the removal process.'
- On September 26, 2025, three days before the first flight departed, ICE emails noted the Iranian Embassy was still requesting that three additional Iranians be added to the manifest; the article says the final passenger list remains unclear and the flight ended up smaller than originally planned.
- Emails show that even on the day of departure, Iranian officials were still making passenger requests, which an ICE official said were denied.
- The correspondence indicates continued prioritization of coordinating the flights even as ICE officials acknowledged that Iranians were fleeing Iran amid the deadly 12-day war with the U.S. and Israel in June 2025.
- Iranian officials publicly said in September 2025 that as many as 400 Iranians could be returned under an agreement with the Trump administration and that most had crossed into the U.S. from Mexico illegally, with some having other immigration issues.
- The emails describe both indirect communications relayed via Qatari officials, who helped charter flights through Doha, and direct contacts with an 'Iranian delegation' and the Iranian Embassy director.
- At least one individual who was not listed on the final manifest sent to Qatar’s Interior Ministry was nevertheless boarded on a flight, with one ICE official writing, 'I have no idea how the case/person got through on the plane.'
- The article underscores that the practice marked a departure from the U.S.'s post-1979 pattern of offering refuge to Iranian exiles and dissidents, and notes human-rights activists’ criticism of returning people to a country known for persecuting women, religious minorities and political opponents.