Deportation flight carrying Iranians abruptly canceled on Arizona tarmac amid court scrutiny

Flight plans and cancellation

Eight Iranian nationals boarded a plane in Mesa, Arizona, on Sunday morning for a deportation trip intended to pass through Georgia and Pakistan before reaching Iran. The flight was abruptly canceled, though the report does not explain why.

Rahnama said an Iranian official from the Iranian Interests Section visited the detainees before departure. The group was told Iran’s government would arrange their travel from Pakistan to Iran, he said.

Legal challenge over information

A lawsuit filed in July by an Iranian immigrant advocacy group alleges that the U.S. government improperly shared confidential details about Iranian asylum seekers with Iranian officials. At least a dozen detainees have said Iranian officials contacted them with sensitive information about their asylum claims.

Recently unsealed court records show the administration said in mid-October that it planned to deport Iranians to Iran through an unnamed third country. The records did not give a date for those deportations.

Judge orders advance notice

The judge directed the government to notify the court 24 hours before finalizing plans to deport Iranians to Iran or another country. The government must also provide five days’ written notice before carrying out a deportation. The government filed additional documents in the case later Sunday, but they were sealed and unavailable to the public.

Other planned removals

Attorneys said roughly a dozen Iranian detainees had been told in the past week that they were scheduled for a flight to Pakistan and then Iran. They said they confirmed those plans with the Department of Homeland Security.

Three deportation flights to Iran took place between September 2025 and January 2026, carrying more than 100 Iranian nationals. DHS said it does not comment on prospective removal operations, including schedules, passengers, destinations or individual cases.