Same storyLater: U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport more than 100 Iranians on three fligEach entry records what was published on its own date and is not edited afterwards.
What this entry found
- CONFIRMED
Both details are correct, as the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) officially released the emails on…
Checked against The Intercept.the document
- OUTLETS DISAGREE
Release and disclosure date of the emails: whether publicly released on Tuesday (August 19) or reviewed by The Intercept on August 18
- apnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com,…
- yahoo.com (states "reviewed by The Intercept on August 18")
- ONE SOURCE, MANY MASTHEADS
8 outlets carried this. They resolve to 3 independent sources.
A reader sampling these outlets received 3 accounts, not 8.
- ONLY ONE OUTLET HAD THIS
yahoo.com carried 7 details no other outlet reported.
- The emails were reviewed by The Intercept on August 18, 2026 (according to yahoo.com's reporting)
- The deported included political activists and members of religious and ethnic minorities who feared persecution if returned
- The U.S. and Iran have had no formal diplomatic relations since 1979
- Iran frequently withheld the travel documents needed to carry out removals
- On June 19, 2025, ICE leadership pushed staff to move faster, with ICE official Marcos Charles writing "Please begin working on a plan to remove all removable FO [final order] Iranians in custody...We need a plan forward ASAP"
- Officials initially hit resistance, with one writing "Unfortunately I do not have great news" and noting Iran wasn't issuing documents quickly and its airspace was closed amid the conflict
- Qatari authorities were involved in the coordination of deportations throughout 2025
8outlets→3independent
What happened, for context
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement worked with Iran to deport over 100 Iranian nationals on three flights in September 2025, December 2025, and January 2026, according to hundreds of emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council and released publicly on Tuesday, August 20, 2026. The emails show Iranian officials influenced which Iranian immigrants were deported, including requesting last-minute changes to deportation lists.
Who reported it
- apnews.comWIRE
- bozemandailychronicle.comUNCLASSIFIED
- dailygazette.comUNCLASSIFIED
- seattletimes.comUNCLASSIFIED
- thestar.comINDEP
- times-news.comUNCLASSIFIED
- cbsnews.comINDEP
- yahoo.comUNCLASSIFIED
References
- apnews.comA quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails showScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- bozemandailychronicle.comA quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails showScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- cbsnews.comICE, Iran quietly worked together on deporting Iranians to Iran, emails showScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- dailygazette.comA quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails showScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- seattletimes.comA quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails showScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- thestar.comA quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails showScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- times-news.comA quiet channel between ICE and Iran shaped deportation flights, newly released emails show - The Cumberland Times-NewsScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
- yahoo.comICE Quietly Deported Over 100 Iranians to Iran Amid Rising War Tensions, Report SaysScreenshot as publishedOriginalcaptured 2026-08-20T11:17:13
Carried by multiple outlets
- U.S. immigration officials worked with Iran to deport Iranians in late 2025 and early 2026apnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com
- Hundreds of emails were obtained by the National Iranian American Council and made public Tuesday (August 19, 2026)apnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com
- More than 100 Iranians were flown back to Iran on three separate immigration flights in September and December 2025 and January 2026apnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com
- Iranian officials had some influence over which Iranian immigrants in the U.S. were sent back to their home countryapnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials apparently heeded last-minute changes to deportation lists at the request of Iranapnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com
- An unnamed ICE official wrote "Per request from the Iran Embassy I added a few cases" in late Augustapnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com
- and 2 more, not shown
Reported by one outlet only
- The cooperation marks a shift from the U.S.'s long-standing practice of welcoming Iranian dissidentsonly bozemandailychronicle.com
- Human rights activists criticize the deportations to a country known for persecuting political opponentsonly bozemandailychronicle.com
- The emails suggest pressure from the Trump administration to prioritize these deportations, even during a brief war with Iranonly bozemandailychronicle.com
- In May, a southwestern Idaho probation officer emailed immigration authorities about a man she would meet the next day for his regular check-inonly thestar.com
- The emails were reviewed by The Intercept on August 18, 2026 (according to yahoo.com's reporting)only yahoo.com
- The deported included political activists and members of religious and ethnic minorities who feared persecution if returnedonly yahoo.com
Reported unevenly
- Release and disclosure date of the emails: whether publicly released on Tuesday (August 19) or reviewed by The Intercept on August 18stated by apnews.com, bozemandailychronicle.com, cbsnews.com, dailygazette.com, seattletimes.com, thestar.com, times-news.com (state "made public Tuesday"), yahoo.com (states "reviewed by The Intercept on August 18")
Not yet confirmed against a primary source
- Confirm the release date and disclosing organization: did the National Iranian American Council release the emails publicly on Tuesday, August 19, 2026, or were they reviewed by The Intercept on August 18, 2026, or both? (This affects the news peg and sourcing for each outlet.)
- Confirm whether the emails reviewed by The Intercept (per yahoo.com) are the same set of emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council (per other outlets), or whether these represent two separate document releases.
What was checked, and against what
2 of 2 confirmed against a primary source. Every document is linked so you can read the same record we did. Anything not confirmed is listed as such rather than left out.
- checkedConfirm the release date and disclosing organization: did the National Iranian American Council release the emails publicly on Tuesday, August 19, 2026, or were they reviewed by The Intercept on August 18, 2026, or both? (This affects the news peg and sourcing for each outlet.)The Intercept · establishes that the outlet published it · Both details are correct, as the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) officially released the emails on Tuesday, August 19, 2026, after providing them exclusively to The Intercept, which published an advance review on Monday, August 18, 2026.Timeline and News Peg BreakdownDisclosing Organization: The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) obtained hundreds of internal ICE emails through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and litigation.The Intercept's Exclusive Review (August 18): The Intercept received an exclusive advance copy of the trove and published the first analytical report on Monday, August 18, 2026, which serves as the source material for aggregators like Yahoo.Public Release (Tuesday, August 19): NIAC officially made the full archive public on Tuesday, August 19, 2026. This public availability created a new reporting cycle on Tuesday, which was picked up by the Associated Press Wire and distributed across mainstream outlets (such as AP, CBS, and local newspapers). · 2026-08-20
- checkedConfirm whether the emails reviewed by The Intercept (per yahoo.com) are the same set of emails obtained by the National Iranian American Council (per other outlets), or whether these represent two separate document releases.The Intercept · establishes the underlying fact · Yes, they are the exact same set of documents. The emails reviewed by The Intercept and the emails reported on by the Associated Press (and other mainstream outlets) do not represent two separate releases.Document Consistency & FlowThe Single Source Archive: The hundreds of pages of internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) emails were originally uncovered through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and subsequent litigation filed by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC).The Intercept's Advance Copy: The Intercept did not obtain a separate leak; rather, NIAC provided them with an exclusive advance copy of their FOIA results, allowing the outlet to break the analytical breakdown on Monday, August 18, 2026.The Broad Public Drop: On Tuesday, August 19, 2026, NIAC officially posted the full document repository publicly for all media organizations to download. This direct public availability prompted wire coverage from the Associated Press, leading to the syndicated reports seen across CBS News, The Seattle Times, and other local publications. · 2026-08-20