On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of 11 Iranian nationals, occurring shortly after national security officials heightened their alert status due to concerns over potential sleeper cell attacks in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes on the nation’s nuclear enrichment sites.
Federal agents apprehended 11 individuals, one of whom was on a federal watchlist, during a coordinated operation across eight states and nine sanctuary cities.
Mehran Makari Sahel, a resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, was taken into custody on June 22. He is a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and has acknowledged connections with Hezbollah.
Additionally, five other individuals who were arrested face various charges, including grand larceny and possession of drugs and firearms.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that another individual, Yousef Mehridehno, had been residing in the U.S. unlawfully for eight years before his arrest for providing false information on a visa application. He was captured in central Mississippi, near Jackson, four months after being designated as a high-priority target.
While officials have not linked any of the 11 detainees to ongoing terrorist activities, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi have urged counterterrorism personnel to stay alert following Iran’s threats of retaliation after the bombing on Sunday. The Iranian government launched missiles at a U.S. military installation in Qatar the following day.
All 11 individuals have been charged with offenses that extend beyond civil immigration violations, according to authorities who have labeled them as threats to public safety.
Another person, Ribvar Karimi, was apprehended in northern Alabama on Sunday, as reported by DHS. During his arrest, law enforcement discovered an Islamic Republic of Iran Army card in Karmi’s possession. He allegedly served as a sniper in the Iranian Army from 2018 to 2021 and entered the United States legally in October 2024 on a K-1 visa, which is designated for migrants who are marrying American citizens.
“We have consistently stated that we are removing the worst of the worst — and we are doing so,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement to CBS News. “We do not wait for a military operation to take action; we are proactively fulfilling President Trump’s directive to secure the homeland.”
Federal immigration authorities have significantly increased the deportation of undocumented immigrants under President Donald Trump. These efforts peaked in May when White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller admonished ICE officials for not meeting daily arrest quotas that would align with Trump’s mass deportation strategy.
The agency has since been instructed to carry out a minimum of 3,000 arrests each day.
According to CBS, 68 Iranian nationals were detained by ICE in the previous fiscal year, including 47 who had documented criminal records. This number represents a small portion of the 113,000 individuals arrested by ICE since the beginning of Trump’s second term, with the majority originating from Mexico and Latin America.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem activated the National Terrorism Advisory System this week, urging state and local officials to remain vigilant regarding the potential for terror attacks motivated by Iran.
During a briefing, a member of the Trump administration informed reporters that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is striving to “anticipate” threats prior to their emergence while “collaborating with our local governors and law enforcement to ensure they are aware of potential threats or suspicious activities.”
When questioned about the likelihood of sleeper cell attacks, Noem responded only that “some [who have] traveled overseas for a brief period, become radicalized and return.”
She further stated, “We must remain vigilant regarding all of it, and be thorough in our efforts, and we will persist in doing so.”
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