They were turned back from flights to the United States in Tehran and in the major transfer hubs of Istanbul and Dubai. He said the airline did not know if Iranians could fly to the United States or not. Holders of green cards, which confer the right to live and work indefinitely in the United States, received conflicting information about whether or not they would be permitted to return to the United States. It is unclear how many Iranians have green cards, but experts say the number runs into the hundreds of thousands. Others spent years preparing to study in the United States only to see their plans abruptly thwarted on Friday.

Source: New York Times January 28, 2017 18:10 UTC