Two women reported to be relatives of assassinated Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani who were arrested in the United States are not, in fact, related to him, according to a news report.
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter Sarina were arrested in early April after their residency permits were rescinded. This came after far-right campaigner Laura Loomer claimed they were related to the late Quds Force leader on social media and said she reported the women to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for “posting content sympathetic to the Iranian regime and Ayatollah”.
However, according to Iranian birth records, identification papers, a family will and other personal documents seen by the US-based website Drop Site News, they are not related to Soleimani, even distantly.
Soleimani Afshar was, according to the outlet, involved in anti-Islamic Republic protests in the 1990s and 2000s and spent a week in prison for her activities before moving to the US.