In the wake of President Donald Trump’s crushing airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear program, a major ICE operation has exposed a disturbing reality: individuals with known or suspected ties to the Iranian military and terrorist networks are living unlawfully inside the United States—and in some cases, blending in under Biden-era immigration loopholes.
The most chilling arrest came over the weekend when Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents nabbed Ribvar Karimi, an alleged Iranian Army sniper, who had been living in the U.S. illegally. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Karimi entered on a K-1 fiancé visa under the Biden administration in October 2024—but never followed through with adjusting his immigration status, a requirement for legal residency.
When ICE agents detained him, Karimi was reportedly in possession of an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card. He remains in custody as deportation proceedings move forward.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. DHS confirmed that ICE arrested 11 Iranian nationals across multiple states over the weekend, several of whom were previously convicted criminals, terrorist-linked, or had longstanding removal orders ignored during the Biden years.
Among the most troubling cases:
- Mehran Makari Saheli, a 56-year-old former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was arrested in Minnesota. He had a felony firearms conviction and admitted ties to Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group. He had defied a 2022 deportation order.
- Yousef Mehridehno, detained in Mississippi, had been stripped of his permanent resident status after lying on his visa application. He’s now classified as a known or suspected terrorist.
- Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, another Iranian national, was arrested after failing to comply with a voluntary departure order. He had prior convictions for firearms possession and threats against law enforcement. During the arrest, ICE also detained Linet Vartaniann, a U.S. citizen, for allegedly threatening to shoot ICE agents and harboring Eidivand.
Other Iranian migrants arrested had criminal histories that included drug offenses, child abuse, and grand larceny. Many had been ordered removed years earlier but remained under the radar—until now.
This crackdown follows the U.S. military’s Operation Midnight Hammer, in which B-2 stealth bombers obliterated three of Iran’s top nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The massive operation dealt a historic blow to Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and triggered a limited Iranian retaliation: a telegraphed missile barrage at a U.S. base in Qatar that caused minimal damage.
As tensions flared, the Department of Homeland Security raised the national threat level, warning of a “heightened threat environment” and the likelihood of cyberattacks and lone-wolf terror plots by pro-Iranian actors.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem emphasized that this wave of ICE arrests was not reactive, but proactive. “We don’t wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
Trump’s allies in Congress are now demanding more security funding. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, responding to news that one of the suspects was caught in Minnesota, called on lawmakers to pass the president’s One Big Beautiful Bill, aimed at boosting ICE capabilities and closing immigration loopholes.
“We don’t have a moment to waste — the safety of our communities depends on it,” Emmer said.
With confirmed terror ties, sniper training, and blatant defiance of U.S. immigration law, the arrests are sounding alarm bells nationwide. Trump’s critics once scoffed at his warnings about sleeper cells and border security vulnerabilities. But after a weekend like this, those warnings don’t sound so far-fetched anymore.
