New Delhi, April 11 -- The US State Department said on Saturday that action had been taken against 1979 Iran hostage crisis spokesperson Masoumeh Ebtekar's son Seyed Eissa Hashemi, a psychology teacher based in the Los Angeles area, along with his wife and son, all Iranian-born lawful permanent residents of the United States.

In a statement issued as talks to end the conflict with Iran were beginning in Pakistan's Islamabad, the department said the family had been taken into custody by immigration authorities and is set to be deported.

"Masoumeh Ebtekar - also known as "Screaming Mary" - was the spokeswoman for the Islamic terrorists who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days - subjecting t...