Mesa, Arizona: A US plane carrying Iranian immigrants who were set to be deported was forced to return to Arizona after Pakistan reportedly refused to let them enter the country. The move disrupted Washington’s plan to use Pakistan as a transit route to send them to Iran.
The charter flight left Mesa, Arizona, on Tuesday with at least nine Iranian immigrants on board. It was supposed to fly them to Pakistan, from where they would be sent to Iran. But about 30 minutes after takeoff, the plane turned around and landed back at its original location, according to The New York Times, which cited a US official and a relative of one of the detainees.
After the flight was stopped, the Iranian immigrants were taken off the plane and returned to an immigration detention centre in Arizona, the relative told the newspaper.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on the failed operation.
This is the second time in recent days that a plan to deport Iranian nationals from Arizona has been disrupted.
Islamabad’s Transit Role
The Trump administration has reportedly been exploring ways to deport migrants to Iran and Afghanistan — two countries with which the United States does not have diplomatic relations — by sending them through Pakistan.
The plan has drawn criticism from immigration lawyers and rights groups. They say people sent back to their home countries could face persecution or other serious harm.
Pakistan had earlier said it was considering helping deportees travel to Afghanistan. Last week, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said talks were underway and that Islamabad hoped to reach an arrangement acceptable to all sides.
However, Pakistan’s reported refusal to allow Tuesday’s group of Iranian deportees into the country appears to have disrupted at least one of the administration’s planned removal operations.
Another Aborted Operation
This was not the first recent attempt to move Iranian detainees out of Arizona.
On Sunday, at least eight Iranians boarded another plane in Mesa that was scheduled to travel through Georgia before going on to Pakistan. That operation was later abandoned without any explanation, according to Ali Rahnama, a lawyer representing the detainees, who spoke to the Associated Press.
The latest flight’s sudden return raises questions about whether the administration’s broader deportation strategy, which relies on third-country transit routes, can work smoothly.
Detainees Move Courts
The proposed deportations have also led to legal action in the United States.
The Iranian American Legal Defense Fund, which represents some of the detained immigrants, has gone to court over the administration’s handling of their cases.
According to court documents cited by The New York Times, some detainees were told by an Iranian government representative over the weekend that they would first be sent to Pakistan before being taken to Iran, as reported by India Today.
The group has earlier accused US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of improperly sharing confidential asylum-related information with Iranian authorities.
The Trump administration has denied the allegations. Two ICE officials told a court in October that their talks with Iranian diplomats were only about travel arrangements and documents.
Washington Defends Policy
The Department of Homeland Security has said the administration is using every legal option to carry out President Trump’s mass-deportation agenda, the Associated Press reported.
The United States had earlier carried out three deportation flights to Iran between September 2025 and January 2026, removing more than 100 Iranian nationals, according to the Associated Press.
The latest setback shows the logistical and diplomatic difficulties facing the administration as it tries to expand deportations to countries where direct removal routes are limited or unavailable.