Saagar Enjeti

And we can reveal that, no, these women have no connection to Qasem Soleimani whatsoever.

It is entirely a case of mistaken identity sparked by right-wing activist Laura Loomer and also some fans of the Shah.

So birth certificates from Iran collected by the family

lay out a documented family tree spanning multiple generations with no connection to Soleimani or even to relatives of the late general.

So at Dropsite News, my colleague Murtaza Hussain and I also reviewed other personal identifying documents, including passports, family photographs, and work documentation from both Iran and the U.S.

that strongly contradict the allegations that the two women were connected to the late Iranian commander."

or that they were living lavishly from any connection to the Iranian government.

I spoke to both women yesterday from their South Texas ICE detention facility, which is privately run by the GEO Group, and they remain shocked at the situation they find themselves in.

Hamada, she told me, had actually previously been imprisoned by the Iranian government for protesting it.

When she got to the United States, the thing she told me that she was most looking forward to was being able to freely speak her mind.

Serena told me that, yes, her mother is highly opinionated, but what they are not is related to Qasem Soleimani.

Now, in order for Soleimani to be Hamada's uncle, based on her last name, he would need to be the brother of Hamada's father.

Hamada's father, Ali Soleimani Afshar, was born in Tehran in 1947.

Yet, according to the documents, he had no brothers at all, let alone ones corresponding to the identity of General Soleimani, who was born 10 years later in a small village in the southern province of Kerman.

Ali Soleimani Afshar's parents died in his childhood.

Historical passport documents also show that Soleimani Afshar's family origins go back generations to the city of Yazd in central Iran, a province away from the roots of General Soleimani.

The late general is also known to have two brothers, Sorab and Hossein, who have previously given interviews about their upbringing in Rol Qarman that identify themselves as his only brothers.

They have no connection to Ali Soleimani Afshar.

The State Department, though, is standing by its entirely false claims.

They told me in a statement, quote,