Iranian academic writes of US detention 'hell' over link to 1979 hostage crisis

An online petition in January 2026 called for Hashemi's deportation from the US due to his mother's involvement in the hostage crisis. A few conservative US outlets carried reports from outside Hashemi's residence in the US in April. Less than a week later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the US would revoke the family's status.Rubio's announcement did not specify whether Hashemi or Tahmasebi had committed wrongdoing or posed a national security threat themselves.The agency "does not divulge protected, sensitive, or classified information pertaining to the termination of legal status of foreign nationals", State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.He said the government retained the right to terminate the legal status of foreign nationals who "pose a threat to the national security interests of the US".Maria Kari, a member of Tahmasebi-Hashemi's legal team, told the BBC that the State Department "has not charged this family under any national security provision of the Immigration laws"."If the government had any evidence that this family threatened national security, it has had several opportunities to say so but the government has not," Kari said. "In fact, no US government agency has presented any evidence to support their allegations."Prior to their arrest, Tahmasebi and Hashemi lived in Los Angeles and worked in academia. They entered the US legally in 2014 on visas, and became lawful permanent residents in 2016.