AP: Admin Talked Iran Removals During Wartime

According to the Associated Press (via its Thursday X post and secondary reports of the same exclusive), unsealed court filings show the Trump administration kept working channels with Iranian authorities on removing Iranian nationals even while the two governments were in an active conflict, according to reporting published Thursday.

The documents, unsealed the same day, describe talks over travel documents and possible removal routes through a third country. AP reported that U.S. immigration officials coordinated arrangements that earlier returned more than 100 Iranians on three flights in late 2025 and early 2026.

The Trump administration held secret talks with Iran on deporting Iranians during the war, unsealed court documents show. https://t.co/6wC2iPLYH2

— The Associated Press (@AP) November 5, 2026

ABC News, citing an unsealed transcript of an October 15 hearing before U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, said a Justice Department attorney told the court that planned removals to Iran — routed through third countries — had moved from “no” in August to “yes” by mid-October.

Judge Reyes pressed the government on the risk to people in U.S. custody if they were returned to a country the president has described as lawless and an enemy, ABC reported. She ordered 24-hour notice of any finalized removal plan and five days’ written notice before anyone is placed on a transport for removal, and warned of contempt proceedings for violations.

For Daily Beltway readers, the core fact is enforcement continuity: the administration treated final removal orders as lawful even when diplomacy with Tehran is radioactive. That is the opposite of the catch-and-release era conservatives spent years fighting. Removable aliens with final orders do not get a wartime veto from activist counsel just because headlines are loud.

The lawsuit behind the hearing — brought by the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund — alleges U.S. agencies shared confidential asylum information with Iranian officials. The Department of Homeland Security has denied sharing asylum application records with Tehran, according to AP. Conservatives should hold that denial to evidence, not assume every advocacy claim is gospel.

Court papers also describe outreach from the Iranian Interest Section in Washington to meet detainees in California and Arizona. According to the transcript summarized by ABC, those detainees refused the meetings and none took place.

None of this requires inventing battlefield claims. Tom’s standing rule still applies: do not assert a U.S. attack narrative beyond what officials have confirmed. AP and ABC are reporting on deportation logistics and a judge’s notice orders, not authorizing speculation about strike packages.

Politically, Democrats and immigration NGOs will frame the emails as proof of cruelty. The counter is simpler. Nations at odds still move prisoners and deportees through third countries; the United States has done hard removals to difficult destinations before. The question for voters after the midterms is whether a new Democratic Congress will kneecap ICE and DHS while criminal aliens and failed asylum cases stack up — or whether the executive keeps executing lawful orders of removal.

Watch the notice windows Judge Reyes set. If the government moves on a plan, the court record will show it. Until then, the Thursday unsealing is a same-day primary document dump: AP exclusive filings, ABC on the Reyes transcript, and a live fight over whether wartime politics can freeze immigration enforcement.

Sources

• ABC News — Judge blasts administration for planning to deport Iranian immigrants during wartime
• Times of India — US held talks with Iran on deportations during war (AP filings)
• Associated Press on X — unsealed court documents
• ABC News on X — Reyes hearing transcript report

Reporting by Daily Beltway.