Deportation flight of Iranians from U.S. canceled at last minute, attorney says

A U.S. deportation flight carrying Iranian nationals, bound for Iran via Pakistan, was abruptly canceled Sunday morning, an attorney said. Ali Rahnama of the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund told The Associated Press that at least eight detainees had been loaded onto a plane in Mesa, Arizona, for a route to Georgia and then onward to Pakistan before Iran. The flight was canceled without explanation. The legal filing cited documents unsealed in a civil lawsuit alleging the U.S. illegally shared confidential asylum information with Iranian officials. DHS declined comment on “prospective removal operations,” including schedules and passenger details.