Trump administration held talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during the war, court documents show

The Trump administration kept up confidential discussions with Iranian officials about deporting Iranians even while the U. S. was fighting a war with Iran, according to court records unsealed Thursday. As recently as mid-October, the government told a federal court it planned to remove the Iranians by way of an unnamed third country, though no timing was given. Judge Ana Reyes ordered officials to give the court 24 hours' notice of any finalized plan to send Iranians to Iran or elsewhere, and five days' written notice before any removal happens, according to PBS NewsHour.

The disclosures surfaced in a lawsuit accusing U. S. immigration agencies of passing confidential details about Iranian asylum seekers to Tehran. Filings in the case describe a joint effort to pick out Iranians held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and push them to go home. The Department of Homeland Security denies sharing asylum application records with Iran. Earlier emails showed the two governments arranged three flights, in September and December 2025 and January 2026, carrying more than 100 Iranians.

At an Oct. 15 hearing, Reyes challenged Justice Department attorney Dimitar Georgiev-Remmel over sending people to a country that Trump had called an enemy.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →