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US federal agents arrested three Iranian nationals "with ties to the Iranian regime" this week, following Secretary of State Marco Rubio's order to terminate their permanent residency statuses.
The US State Department said Seyed Eissa Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi and their son were now in custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pending their removal from the US.
Mr Hashemi, the State Department said, is the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar. She was the spokeswoman for the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, the student movement that stormed and occupied the US embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979, triggering the Iran hostage crisis that lasted 444 days.
Ms Ebtekar, 65, was an intermediary for the hostage-takers and was referred as "Sister Mary" in western media. Since the Iranian Revolution, Ms Ebtekar, a Reformist, has long been one of the highest ranking women in Iran's government.
She was the head of the department of environment from 1997 to 2005 and served in the Iranian Cabinet. She returned to the position between 2013 and 2017, then moved to become Vice Presidency for Women and Family Affairs until 2021, another cabinet-level position.
The State Department said Mr Hashemi, Ms Tahmasebi, and their son entered the US in 2014 on visas issued by the Obama administration.
They were granted lawful permanent resident - or green card - status in June 2016.
"The Trump administration will never allow America to become a home for foreign nationals tied to anti-American terrorist regimes," the State Department said.
Last week, Mr Rubio terminated the legal status of the niece and grandniece of assassinated IRGC strategist Maj Gen Qassem Suleimani. They remain in ICE custody.
Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, daughter of former National Security Adviser Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi were also arrested by US agents. The couple are no longer in the US.
