U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has apprehended an Iranian army sniper and a Hezbollah-linked suspect during a weekend immigration sweep, raising fresh concerns over national security.
Ribvar Karimi, a former sniper with the Iranian Army from 2018 to 2021, was arrested in Locust Fork, Alabama, where he had been living with his American wife.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Karimi entered the U.S. legally on a K-1 fiancé visa in October but failed to adjust his immigration status, making his stay unlawful.
Authorities also arrested Mehran Makari Saheli in Minnesota, a 56-year-old ex-member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with alleged Hezbollah ties. Saheli had previously served 15 months in prison for gun possession and had defied a deportation order since June 2022.
Both men are currently in ICE custody and await removal proceedings. Karimi’s wife, Morgan Gardner, is seven months pregnant and expressed fears of giving birth without her husband present. “He loves America. The first thing he bought here was a U.S. flag,” she said.
ICE also arrested two other Iranian nationals with criminal records in Texas and Arizona. One suspect, Behzad Sepehrian, was found with a firearm and a restraining order for domestic abuse.
The arrests have reignited debates over border security and the effectiveness of visa vetting processes in the U.S., especially concerning foreign nationals with military or extremist links.
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