ICE agents arrested a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps member with suspected ties to Hezbollah, an ex Iranian army sniper and a terror watchlist suspect during a sweep of Iranian illegal migrants in the US over the weekend — as authorities raised warnings about possible “sleeper cells.”
In all, 11 Iranian illegal migrants, many of them with criminal records, were taken into custody, the Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement nabbed former IRGC Mehran Makari Sahel, who has “admitted connections” to the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, according to CBS News.
The 56-year-old Iranian citizen is a convicted felon, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison in Minneapolis for possessing a firearm, according to DHS.
The resident of St. Paul, Minnesota, was ordered deported on June 28, 2022, but never left the US.
Yousef Mehridehno, whose name appears on the terrorist watchlist, was arrested by ICE outside Jackson, Mississippi, according to the outlet.
Feds discovered that Mehridehno lied on a visa application after he had already been living in the country illegally for eight years. They also found that he potentially committed marriage fraud, according to DHS.
ICE agents also arrested Ribvar Karmi in northern Alabama on Sunday and found he was carrying an Iranian army ID card that revealed he was a sniper between 2018 and 2021, CBS reported. --->READ MORE HERE
Customs and Border Protection is warning agents about possible terrorist “sleeper cells” in the US after more than 700 Iranian nationals were let into the US after crossing illegally under the Biden administration, according to a leaked memo obtained by The Post.
Iranian migrants are considered to be “special interest aliens” and are supposed to undergo additional vetting by the feds for possible terrorism ties.
Under the Biden administration, over 1,500 Iranian migrants were caught crossing the border illegally and nearly 50% of them were released into the US, according to Fox News.
Border agents are now being put on high alert of the possibility of Iranians using the border to carry out attacks on the US following the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend.
CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott cited “Iran’s hatred for the United States and their desire to harm America and Americans,” in Saturday’s memo to border agents.
“Over the past four years, thousands of Iranian national have been documented entering the United States illegally and countless more were likely in the known and unknown got-a-ways,” Scott wrote.
“Though we have not received any specific credible threats to share with you all currently, the threat of sleeper cells or sympathizers acting on their own, or at the behest of Iran has never been higher,” he added. --->READ MORE HERE
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