Media: US plans deportation of Iranians to Central African Republic

The Trump administration is planning to deport a number of Iranians and other migrants to the Central African Republic (CAR), a country long affected by instability, violence, and poverty, according to two lawyers and an official briefed on the matter cited by Reuters.

The report says the group includes Iranian nationals who may face serious risk if returned to Iran, including two women who have previously been granted protection in the United States.

The Iranians include two women who face potential torture and persecution if they are forced to go back to Iran, their lawyer, Emily Trostle, said. One is a Christian convert, and the other is a pro-democracy activist, she added.

According to the lawyer, both women were detained after arriving in the United States in November 2024 and later applied for asylum. An immigration judge granted them “withholding of removal,” a legal protection indicating they faced a greater than 50% risk of persecution or torture if returned to Iran.

The U.S. State Department and the presidency of the Central African Republic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

An official briefed on the matter said the first deportation flight under the arrangement could include about 20 people, among them Syrians and Afghans, and may depart as early as June 11. Lawyers also said a Turkish national who fled political persecution could be included.

The reported plan is part of what Washington describes as “third-country deportation deals,” under which migrants who cannot be returned to their countries of origin are sent elsewhere. The U.S. has also pursued similar arrangements with neighbouring states in the region.

Rights groups and legal advocates have raised concerns about the transparency and legality of such agreements.

“At the very moment the United States is promising the Iranian people freedom and support for standing against the Islamic Republic, it is sending Iranian asylum seekers who fled that same regime back toward their demise," said Ali Rahnama, interim legal director at the Iranian American Legal Defence Fund.

The official briefed on the matter said deportees would initially be held in apartments in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, and could number in the hundreds over time.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said last week that all deportees would “receive full due process.”

A spokesperson for the International Organisation for Migration said the agency would “provide post-arrival humanitarian assistance” to migrants sent to Bangui, at the request of the Central African government, adding that it was not involved in removals and would act “on a strictly voluntary basis and respecting applicable international standards.”

The Central African Republic, which has faced repeated cycles of conflict since its independence from France in 1960, remains heavily dependent on international support and peacekeeping efforts, despite recent political and security developments.

By Sabina Mammadli