I am originally Persian, born and raised in Iran. I am on a Green card here in the USA and want to go back home, but my Iranian passport has expired. Qatar Airways has a cheap, good flight that I want to book, but the web site does not let me book because my passport has expired. I tried calling but did not get through.
I know sometimes airlines accept you going back to your country with an expired passport. Would that apply here?
The best thing to do is to contact The Interests Section of Islamic Republic of Iran at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington D.C. and ask about getting a new passport that allows you to travel home.
Sources:
The Interests Section provides all essential consular services to Iranian citizens and issued visas to foreigners.
You can, yes, but it has to be a direct flight (which doesn't exist), TIMATIC
Iran - Destination Passport
Passport required. Document Validity
Nationals of Iran are allowed to enter with an expired passport.
Although, you may be able to do a transit in DOH, TIMATIC doesn't mention the need of a valid passport
Follow Mark Johnson's answer and get a new passport if possible
The problem is that the airline isn't sure that your home country will let you enter. And if your home country doesn't let you enter, then the airline has to take you back immediately and that's a major pain for them. Imagine the plane is supposed to go from the USA to Iran to India, then they might have to take you to India and then get you to the USA somehow.
So whether you are legally allowed to enter Iran or not, if you can't convince the airline of that, then you'll have to stay in the USA. And the airline wouldn't want to take the risk. Even if you are able to buy a ticket, that doesn't mean you will be allowed on the flight once you come to the boarding gate and your passport is checked.
If you have to go through another country, that makes it just worse, because at the US checkin they can't know that the second country allows you on the flight to Iran. Plus there's the risk that you might not be allowed on a return flight with an expired passport.
