DEFINITELY A MISSED OPPORTUNITY.

At the beginning of the month, we noted a deportation of two Iranian fashion plates.

The "missed opportunity" my post refers to is the upcoming deportation of Iranian women alleged to be kin of Iranian terrorist commander Qasem Soleimani, who have been living in California and much more in the way of the Californian than of the Shiite.  "Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, who celebrated attacks on US soldiers and military bases in social media posts, and her daughter Sarinasadat Hosseiny, were nabbed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday and had their green cards revoked over ties to the Iranian regime."  Power Line's John Hinderaker notes that Western fashion influenced the ladies in a way that, put simply, would not go down well with the guardians against vice back in Asia Minor.  "Afshar may have reviled the U.S. as the Great Satan, but she herself reveled in a luxurious Los Angeles lifestyle, presumably courtesy of the oppressed people of Iran."

My use of that "alleged to be kin" might have been prudent.  Reason's Matthew Petti notes, "The State Department and ICE claimed to have caught Islamic Republic nepo babies 'enjoying a lavish lifestyle.' Instead, they tore apart an innocent family."  A family of refugees from the theocracy, to be specific.

The story sounded too good to be true—because it wasn't. The alleged niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, are not actually related to the late general, documents obtained by Drop Site show. Soleimani Afshar's father was an only child whose parents died before the general was born, in an entirely different part of Iran. In fact, Soleimani Afshar was once jailed for protesting the Iranian government, and she fled Iran with her teenage daughter after Hosseiny appeared in a dance competition on a banned TV channel.

The young lady has assets that the local Guardians of Public Morals would rather the faithful not see.  As we publish though, we note that there are no official channels for deporting Iranians to Iran, and that someone in the current government didn't consider how turning exiles, whether middle-aged and frumpy or young and nubile, into voices for Californian freedom, might have been a better strategy.  "Instead, the administration seems to have latched onto a much more dubious case for political clout—and, ironically, ended up publicly humiliating two women over exactly the lifestyle they were persecuted for in Iran."  Dumb.