Trump Administration Held Talks With Iran on Deporting Iranians During War

The Trump administration held talks with Iranian officials on deporting Iranians while the war in Iran was still under way, according to court documents reported by PBS NewsHour. That outlet's summary says the documents show the administration maintained contacts with Iranian officials during the war over the removals, specifically for submitting travel documents and for working out "possible avenues for removal."

The Guardian reported that the talks took place as the war dragged on, and that the court documents, obtained by the Associated Press, were unsealed on Thursday. According to The Guardian's summary, the material emerged from a lawsuit alleging violations of national immigration regulations.

The Guardian's summary also states that the Republican administration said as recently as mid-October that it had plans to deport the people described in the filings. The summary breaks off at that point, so the rest of that account is not included.

Both reports credit the Associated Press. PBS NewsHour attributes its story to Michael Kunzelman of the Associated Press, while The Guardian's version is credited to the Associated Press. The two accounts differ in emphasis. The Guardian described the talks as "secret," a word that does not appear in the PBS NewsHour headline or summary, which refer only to talks and contacts.

Neither PBS NewsHour nor The Guardian, in the summaries available, says which Iranian officials were involved, where the contacts took place, or whether travel documents were in fact submitted. Neither summary includes a response from the administration, and neither states how many Iranians were involved in the removals under discussion.

Sources: PBS NewsHour: Trump administration held talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during the war, court documents show; The Guardian: Trump administration holds secret talks to deport Iranians even as war presses on, court documents show.