US terminates residency of family linked to 1979 Tehran hostage crisis

Crime Diary, Middle East, North America

INTERNATIONAL, 11 April 2026 (NPA) — United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the termination of permanent resident status for Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son, pending their removal from the country.

In a statement today, Rubio referenced Masoumeh Ebtekar — also known as “Screaming Mary” — who served as spokeswoman for the militants that stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979, holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days and subjecting them to beatings, starvation, and mock executions.

Rubio noted that in 2014, the Obama Administration granted visas to Ebtekar’s son and his family, and in 2016, they were given lawful permanent resident status through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Programme.

“This week, I terminated their lawful permanent resident status. Today, Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son are in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement pending removal from our country,” Rubio said.

He added that the family should never have been allowed to benefit from the privilege of living in the United States. “America can never become home for anti‑American terrorists or their families — and under the Trump Administration, it never will,” he concluded.