Iranian cancer researcher detained at Logan

A prominent Iranian cancer researcher traveling to Massachusetts to work at Boston Children’s Hospital has been detained at Logan International Airport along with his wife and children, according to the hospital.

The detention of Dr. Mohsen Dehnavi, who holds a visiting work visa that was issued in May, comes two weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could largely enforce an executive order that would ban people from six Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, from entering the US. The court also ruled that the ban couldn’t apply to visitors who already held valid visas. STAT, a science publication of the Boston Globe, first reported the detention.

Rob Graham, a spokesman for Boston Children’s, where Dehnavi plans to work as a visiting scholar, said in a statement that the hospital “hopes that this situation will be quickly resolved and Dr. Dehnavi and his family will be released and allowed to enter the US.’’

Dehnavi was traveling to the United States on a J-1 visa, which is issued to researchers and other academics who are participating in visiting scholar programs, according to the STAT report. It’s not clear why Dehnavi and his family are being detained, the hospital said.

The hospital said Dehnavi, his wife, and three small children will likely be sent back to Iran on Tuesday.