ICE bust included alleged former member of Iranian military with Hezbollah ties

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents over the weekend arrested 11 Iranians who were in the United States illegally, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday. Among those arrested was Mehran Makari Saheli, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member who also allegedly admitted to connections with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group. The corps, a branch of Iran’s military, is also a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

Agents nabbed Saheli on Sunday in St. Paul, Minn. He previously served jail time in Minneapolis for being a felon in possession of a firearm. An immigration judge ordered him to be deported in 2022, but he illegally remained in the United States. Saheli was in ICE custody on Tuesday pending removal, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Were any other notable people rounded up?

• Ribvar Karimi, who allegedly served as an Iranian Army sniper from 2018 to 2021. He was carrying an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card at the time of his arrest, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

• Yousef Mehridehno, an Iranian man listed as a known or suspected terrorist. The U.S. government ended Mehridehno’s lawful permanent residency in 2017 after determining he lied on his original visa application.

• Linet Vartaniann, a U.S. citizen, who allegedly harbored one of the arrested Iranians in her home and threatened to shoot ICE officials if they entered to arrest him. She has been charged with federal crimes, according to the department.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s story for the latest on the Israel-Iran conflict.