Examining the Issue of Expelling Children of Islamic Republic Officials from the U.S. State Department

Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, announced that the State Department is reviewing the expulsion of children of Islamic Republic officials from the country. In a video message published on the Persian Twitter page of the U.S. State Department on Tuesday, December 10, he described the education of the children of Islamic Republic officials in the United States as another example of the regime's "hypocrisy." According to Mr. Hook, while government officials chant "Death to America," they send their families to the country he referred to as the "so-called Great Satan" to live and study using the money of the Iranian people. He stated, "I can say that we are working on this issue, although I cannot discuss individual cases or our internal policy discussions." Brian Hook emphasized to the Iranian people: "You can be assured that we will use all options to pressure the corrupt hypocrites in your government to change their behavior." NBC recently reported that families of American prisoners in Iran have asked the Trump administration to revoke the visas of the children of senior Islamic Republic officials currently in the U.S. According to this report, the families of these prisoners provided a list of the children and relatives of senior Islamic Republic officials, including the nephew of Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, to the U.S. government and lawmakers. It is said that Fatemeh Larijani, the daughter of Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, is currently completing her residency at a hospital in Ohio. Based on this report, Ali Fereydoun, the son of Hossein Fereydoun, Hassan Rouhani's brother, is a student in New York. Isa Hashemi, the son of Masoumeh Ebtekar, the Vice President of Iran for Women and Family Affairs, is also currently a student and resident of California. Masoumeh Ebtekar was one of the students who seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 52 American diplomats hostage. Mojtaba Zolnour, a representative from Qom in Parliament and a member of the Stability Front, previously stated in an interview with the Etemad newspaper: "When Mr. Obama decided to give a favor to certain individuals during the JCPOA discussions, he granted citizenship to 2,500 Iranians, and some officials competed to ensure their children were among these 2,500." These remarks triggered widespread reactions, and Fox News in the U.S. also reported on his statements. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, also referred to the Fox News report, stating: "It has just become clear that the Obama administration granted citizenship to 2,500 Iranians, including government officials, during their disastrous [nuclear] negotiations with Iran. How excessive and (bad) is that?" However, Jeff Prescott, a U.S. National Security Council official during the Obama administration, responded to Mr. Trump's tweet, stating that "this accusation is ridiculous and false." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former President of Iran, had asked Mr. Trump on August 1 to publish a list of the relatives of Islamic Republic officials living in the United States or holding permanent residency (green cards).