TEHRAN — Emails spanning from May to November 2025 show Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials operating under the orders of then-Acting Director Todd Lyons planned three charter flights to Iran. Lyons served as the acting director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement during this period. On June 19, 2025, Lyons directed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers to launch target cases as a priority. Marcos Charles, who served as the head of removal operations at Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, forwarded Lyons's directive to several officials with instructions to begin working on a plan to remove all Iranians with final removal orders in custody.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement coordinated with Iranian officials through Qatari intermediaries and at times directly. Joshua Coster served as the Enforcement and Removal Operations attaché at the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv. Coster acted as the primary liaison with the Qatari government regarding landing permits, passenger manifests, and transfer details in Doha.

The first mass deportation flight to Iran occurred on September 29, 2025. Each deportation flight arrived in Tehran carrying at least a dozen deportees, including political activists and ethnic and religious minorities.

Operational challenges included closed airspace and uncooperative officials. An Immigrations and Customs Enforcement official stated in an email that airspace in Iran was closed to all aircraft due to the current conflict. An assistant director stated in an email that Iran was currently uncooperative and did not issue travel documents in a timely manner.

Despite these obstacles, an official stated in an email that the team had developed viable options for removals to Iran. Another official urged colleagues to initiate conversations with the Department of State to identify a solution for the White House priority. Officials also complied with an Iranian request to repatriate three specific individuals living in the United States.

Procedural errors occurred during the operation. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials accidentally placed an Iranian national not included on the final manifest on a deportation flight bound for Iran. Coster wrote to colleagues on September 30, 2025, stating, "An Iranian national not included on the final manifest we sent to Qatari MOI was boarded on the flight." The accidental passenger was sent to Iran after a stopover in Doha. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the incident involving the accidental passenger.

Accounts from those affected describe coercive conditions. One man deported to Iran stated he attempted suicide before the flight and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents physically forced him onto the plane. The National Iranian American Council released Immigrations and Customs Enforcement emails in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Jamal Abdi is the president of the National Iranian American Council. Abdi said in an interview, "It seemed clear that Iranians were under the microscope all of a sudden." He added, "We now know that it was actually in the middle of the [Twelve-Day] war where the White House was directing ICE to start removing Iranians." Formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran have been severed since 1979. Madison Sheahan served as the deputy director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement during this period.

Timeline

Formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran have been severed since 1979. Emails spanning from May to November 2025 show Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials operating under the orders of then-Acting Director Lyons planned three charter flights to Iran. On June 19, 2025, Lyons directed Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers to launch target cases as a priority. Marcos Charles forwarded Lyons's directive to several Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials with instructions to begin working on a plan to remove all Iranians with final removal orders in custody.

The first mass deportation flight to Iran occurred on September 29, 2025. Joshua Coster wrote to colleagues on September 30, 2025, stating, "An Iranian national not included on the final manifest we sent to Qatari MOI was boarded on the flight." Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials accidentally placed an Iranian national not included on the final manifest on a deportation flight bound for Iran.

Why It Matters

The deportation flights delivered more than 100 people to Tehran before or during the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran. Internal emails from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement indicate the agency worked directly with Iranian government officials to deport over 100 Iranian nationals. This coordination occurred despite formal diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran having been severed since 1979.

Each deportation flight arrived in Tehran carrying at least a dozen deportees, including political activists and ethnic and religious minorities. The Homeland Security Department published a rule titled Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media on 2026-07-17. The emails reveal that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement coordinated with Iranian officials through Qatari intermediaries and at times directly to facilitate these removals.