Isa Hashemi: ‘We Just Want Our Child to Have a Normal Life in America’
While many Iranian families face poverty and economic hardship, the son and daughter-in-law of Masoumeh Ebtekar—a well-known figure from the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis—after years of living and teaching in America, now say they simply want their child to have a normal life.
A recent report by the Associated Press about the detention and possible deportation of Masoumeh Ebtekar’s son from America has once again brought the issue of the luxurious lifestyles of Islamic Republic officials’ families in the West to the forefront of political and social debate—a matter that for many Iranians symbolizes the stark gap between rulers and ordinary citizens.
According to the report, Isa Hashemi, son of Masoumeh Ebtekar (the famous spokesperson for the occupation of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, known in Western media as “Sister Mary”), along with his wife and child, has been detained by U.S. immigration authorities and is now awaiting legal proceedings regarding his deportation case.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced last month that this family’s permanent residency has been revoked. The U.S. government says this action is part of its new strict policy against affiliates of Islamic Republic officials—individuals who, according to Washington, have benefited from an anti-American regime while simultaneously enjoying the facilities and security of living in the United States.
The contradiction that has angered many Iranians is not limited to the Ebtekar family case. In recent years, numerous reports have been published about the residence, education, and luxurious lifestyles of Islamic Republic officials’ children in America, Canada, and Europe, while the officials themselves inside Iran chant slogans against the West and Western imperialism.
The Associated Press also reported that Hashemi and his wife entered America about a decade ago to continue their education and later obtained permanent residency through the green card lottery. They lived in an area in Los Angeles and both worked as teachers in educational centers.
“Maryam Tahmasbi,” Ebtekar’s daughter-in-law, said in a phone call from detention: “Our wish was for our son to have a normal life.”
However, for many Iranian social media users, this very statement became a symbol of the hypocrisy of the ruling system; because millions of families in Iran are deprived of even the most basic form of normal life. Rampant inflation, the collapse of national currency value, widespread unemployment, and social restrictions have long placed people’s daily lives under pressure, while children and relatives of senior officials often live in comfort and prosperity in the West.
The Trump administration has accelerated the process of revoking visas and green cards for affiliates of certain Islamic Republic figures in recent months. In addition to the Ebtekar family, relatives of Qasem Soleimani and some Islamic Republic security officials have also been targeted by this policy.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated: “Individuals who have close connections with Islamic Republic officials and anti-American activities should not be allowed to reside in America, as their presence could serve as a propaganda tool for the Iranian government.”
In recent years, Iranian activists abroad have repeatedly asked Western governments to provide transparency about the presence of Islamic Republic officials’ children in Europe and America. Many of these activists say that people who have fled repression, imprisonment, and economic crisis cannot accept that the families of those same officials enjoy in the West the freedom, security, and prosperity that the people inside Iran are deprived of.
