Immigration authorities have arrested 16 Iranian nationals, including a former member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with ties to Hezbollah, a former Iranian Army sniper, and a third individual on the terrorist watchlist, in a multi-state operation since Sunday.
One of the arrested men, Mehran Makari Sahel, is a former IRGC operative and has "admitted connections to Hezbollah," according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials quoted in a a CBS News report Tuesday morning. Both the IRGC, an elite branch of Iran's armed forces, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese group backed by Iran, are U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations.
Ribvar Karmi, who was arrested Sunday in Alabama, was carrying an identification card from the Islamic Republic of Iran Army, according to federal agents. Karmi reportedly served as a sniper in the Iranian Army from 2018 to 2021 and entered the United States in October 2024 on a K-1 visa, which is issued to foreign nationals engaged to American citizens.
A third arrestee, Yousef Mehridehno, has lived in the United States illegally for nearly eight years and was added to the terrorist watchlist in February after federal officials found out that he had lied on a visa application.
Authorities arrested at least five more Iranian nationals with criminal histories, Fox News reported Tuesday afternoon.
The arrests, spanning eight states and nine cities nationwide, come as the Department of Homeland Security has activated its National Terrorism Advisory System following the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. DHS secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that officials are working to "get in front of" threats to the United States by "working with our local governors and law enforcement to make sure that they recognize potential threats or suspicious activities," CBS reported.
While officials have not linked the arrests to specific terrorism plots, all 11 of the Iranians mentioned in the CBS report are facing charges or accusations beyond civil immigration violations and pose a threat to public safety, according to ICE. Officials said five of the Iranians had prior criminal convictions, including grand larceny, drug offenses, and firearms violations.
President Donald Trump's administration, meanwhile, has ramped up its crackdown on illegal immigration, with migrant encounters as of February plummeting to the lowest level since 2017. Federal officials have more than doubled the average number of daily arrests—from 660 during the president's first 100 days to 1,200 this month, CBS reported. The White House said it aims to reach 3,000 arrests per day.
"We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are," DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to CBS News. "We don't wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump's mandate to secure the homeland."
Update 3:23 p.m.: This piece has been updated to include the Fox News report about the arrests of five additional Iranians.