ICE arrests 130 Iranian nationals in one week

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly arrested 130 Iranian nationals across the country within the last week as part of an intensified Trump administration initiative to locate and detain individuals considered potential security threats following the US' strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. 

According to multiple federal sources cited by Fox News reporter Bill Melugin, 670 Iranian nationals are currently being held in ICE detention facilities nationwide and that 130 were arrested in the last seven days.

The crackdown follows an earlier wave of arrests announced this week, in which 11 Iranian foreign nationals were detained in a 48-hour span across nine major US cities. Among those taken into custody was Mehran Makari Sahel, arrested near St. Paul, Minnesota. Sahel is alleged to be a former member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a designated terrorist organization by the US, and has reportedly admitted connections to Hezbollah, another US-designated foreign terrorist group.

Authorities also arrested Yousef Mehridehno, an Iranian national who had been living illegally in the US for the past eight years. He was placed on the Terror Watchlist in February and apprehended in Mississippi.

Another arrest took place in northern Alabama, where Ribvar Karmi was taken into custody. Karmi was found carrying an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card. Investigators said he served as an Iranian sniper between 2018 and 2021 before entering the US on a K-1 visa, which is typically reserved for fiancés of American citizens.

In addition to individuals with terror ties, other Iranian nationals arrested during the sweep reportedly had prior criminal convictions ranging from grand larceny to firearm possession.

These developments come as federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have ramped up surveillance of possible Iranian sleeper cells operating in the United States. This effort has intensified in recent weeks following Israel’s Operation Lion Rising, a targeted military campaign against Iranian assets earlier this month, followed by the US strike on the Iranian regime’s nuclear infrastructure.

In response to the heightened threat landscape, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a national terrorism advisory, warning of increased risks from foreign terrorist actors and their affiliates operating on US soil. The Iranian regime has repeatedly threatened the US since the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC’s top general, who was eliminated by a drone strike under Trump’s first administration.