US deports second group of Iranian nationals, officials say

A chartered plane carrying more than 50 Iranians flew out of Mesa, Arizona, on Sunday.

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A chartered plane carrying more than 50 Iranians flew out of Mesa, Arizona, on Sunday, travelling through Cairo and Kuwait before arriving in Iran, according to reports.

Tehran's foreign ministry confirmed the Iranian nationals' return to Iran. US immigration officials could not "confirm or deny a flight" for security reasons.

The first deportation flight took off from the US in late September, in a rare instance of cooperation between Iran and the US. Many Iranian nationals say they come to the US because they fear persecution at home.

Father Joseph Bach, a member of Borderland Companions of Hope, a Franciscan organisation that provides support to migrants, said he has been informed through his contacts inside an Arizona detention facility that Christian converts were among those removed. He also said some detainees had identified as LGBT.