ICE detains 11 Iranian illegal aliens, including suspected terrorists, as Border Patrol warns of possible ‘sleeper cells’

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 11 illegal Iranian immigrants, including suspected terrorists, over the weekend in eight U.S. states, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in an official statement.

The operation comes against a backdrop of growing national security concerns, with the Border Patrol warning of "possible Iranian terrorist sleeper cells" in the country, according to a memo obtained by The New York Post.

Among those arrested is Mehran Makari Sahel, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who, according to CBS News, "admitted connections" to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group. Sahel was arrested near St. Paul, Minnesota.

Another detainee, Yousef Mehridehno, whose name appears on a terrorist watch list, was captured outside Jackson, Missississippi. Authorities discovered that Mehridehno had lied on a visa application after residing illegally in the U.S. for eight years.

In northern Alabama, Ribvar Karmi was arrested Sunday. According to DHS, Karmi was carrying an Iranian Army ID card indicating he had been a sniper between 2018 and 2021. Karmi entered the U.S. in October 2024 on a K-1 visa for immigrants committed to U.S. citizens.

Those with prior criminal convictions

Five of the 11 detainees had prior criminal convictions for crimes such as grand larceny, drug possession and firearms, according to a CBS News report.

For its part, DHS issued a statement in an X post on Tuesday, stating, “Under Secretary Noem, DHS has been full throttle on identifying and arresting known or suspected terrorists and violent extremists that illegally entered this country, came in through Biden’s fraudulent parole programs or otherwise.”

Moreover, the DHS, in its official statement, added: “We have been saying we are getting the worst of the worst out—and we are. We don’t wait until a military operation to execute; we proactively deliver on President Trump’s mandate to secure the homeland.”

For its part, the Border Patrol received a warning after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities Saturday night, according to a leaked memo cited by The Post.

The document, issued by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott, urged agents to be on the lookout for possible Iranian terrorist "sleeper cells."

Scott noted "Iran’s hatred for the United States and their desire to harm America and Americans," noting that "over the past four years, thousands of Iranian nationals have been documented entering the United States illegally and countless more were likely in the known and unknown got-a-ways.”

The memo also indicated that while there were no specific credible threats at the time, “the threat of sleeper cells or sympathizers acting on their own, or at the behest of Iran has never been higher.”

In that regard, Scott called on agents to maintain “a heightened level of situational awareness both on and off-duty.”