U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 11 Iranian nationals over two days, the Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday.
Among those in custody is Ribvar Karimi, who “reportedly served as an Iranian army sniper from 2018 to 2021,” according to the DHS.
An Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card was in Karimi’s possession when he was arrested in Locust, Alabama, on Sunday.
Karimi entered the U.S. in October 2024 on a visa for foreigners who are engaged to be married to a U.S. citizen. But the DHS says he “never adjusted his status—a legal requirement—and is removable from the United States.”
Karimi remains in ICE custody and is facing removal from the U.S.
Under DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the department “has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through [former President Joe Biden’s] fraudulent parole programs or otherwise,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are,” McLaughlin added. “We don’t wait until a military operation to execute. We proactively deliver on President [Donald] Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland.”
In addition to Karimi, ICE arrested eight other Iranian nationals on Sunday and two more on Monday.
The arrests of the Iranian nationals come amid concerns of the possibility of the activation of Iranian terrorist sleeper cells in the U.S. in the wake of the U.S. attack on three Iranian nuclear sites Saturday.
In Houston, ICE arrested Behzad Sepehrian Bahary Nejad, who entered the U.S. on a visa in 2016. He was arrested in 2017 for assaulting a family member, according to DHS, and in 2019, an immigration judge ordered his removal. A Department of Justice immigration judge denied his request for his case to be reopened.
Nejad was said to be carrying a loaded pistol when ICE arrested him.
Hamid Reza Bayat was arrested in Houston despite having been ordered removed from the U.S. in 2005. According to DHS, he has twice been “convicted of drug crimes and once convicted of driving on a suspended license.”
Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand entered the U.S. in 2012, and in 2013 a judge granted him voluntary removal from the U.S., but he never left. He is “convicted of threatening a law enforcement officer and being an alien in possession of a firearm,” according to DHS.
Yousef Mehridehno was arrested in Gluckstadt, Mississippi. Mehridehno entered the U.S. legally in 2017, but the government terminated his residency after it was determined that he “lied on his original visa application and committed potential marriage fraud,” according to DHS. “In February, Mehridehno was listed as a known or suspected terrorist, and he’s now in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
Mahmoud Shafiei and Mehrdad Mehdipour were living together in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the time of their arrests. A judge ordered Shafiei removed from the U.S. in 1987 after he entered the U.S. in 1981.
Shafiei’s “criminal history includes state and federal convictions for drug crimes and arrests for assault and child abuse,” according to the DHS.
Mehdipour was processed for expedited removal in 2023.
ICE arrested Mehran Makari Saheli in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a “former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with admitted connections to Hezbollah,” according to DHS. He was ordered removed from the U.S. in 2022.
Bahman Alizadeh Asfestani was arrested in San Francisco and has a criminal history, according to DHS, that includes “a 1994 conviction for petty theft and a 1995 conviction of possession of a controlled substance for sale.”
On Monday, ICE Buffalo arrested Mohammad Rafikian who has been “convicted of grand larceny, schemes to defraud, criminal impersonation, and practicing as an attorney,” the DHS said.
Also on Monday, ICE San Diego apprehended Arkavan Babk Moirokorli. He was convicted of forging an official seal.