Ebtekar gained international notoriety as the ‘infamous spokeswoman for the Islamist militants who stormed the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days.’ During the crisis, she served as the face of the regime’s propaganda machine, often arranging interviews that were staged with American hostages pushed to explain their treatment in a positive way, instead of telling the truth about their harsh treatment.
Ebtekar later rose to the highest levels of the revolutionary government, serving as a vice president as recently as 2021. The family’s presence in the US has become a point of intense political and public scrutiny, particularly regarding how they secured residency. Records indicate that Hashemi and his family entered the country in 2014. By June 2016, they were granted green cards through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program – a move that occurred just months after the IRGC sparked an international incident by seizing two US Navy vessels and capturing 10 American sailors.
