Iranian Sniper and Hezbollah-Linked Suspect Arrested Among Illegal Migrants in U.S.

Image: Jihad Watch

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested two individuals with serious military and terrorist ties who were living unlawfully in the United States. Among them is a former Iranian Army sniper and another man with known affiliations to the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah. Both arrests occurred since Sunday and highlight growing concerns about potential threats entering the U.S. through legal loopholes or overstayed visas.

One of the arrested individuals, Ribvar Karimi, served as a sniper in the Iranian Army from 2018 to 2021. He was apprehended by ICE agents in the small town of Locust Fork, Alabama, where he had been residing with his American wife. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Karimi was found in possession of an official identification card issued by the Islamic Republic of Iran Army at the time of his arrest.

Karimi initially entered the United States legally in October under the Biden administration through a K-1 visa—a visa designated for foreign nationals engaged to marry American citizens. He fulfilled that requirement by marrying Morgan Gardener in January 2025. However, he failed to take the necessary legal steps to adjust his immigration status after the marriage, which ultimately rendered his stay in the country unlawful.

In a separate operation, ICE agents in Minnesota arrested 56-year-old Mehran Makari Saheli. Saheli is a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s powerful and controversial military force. The DHS stated that Saheli has admitted to having ties with Hezbollah, a designated foreign terrorist organization with deep links to Iran and a long history of anti-American activities.

These arrests have raised alarms amid heightened concerns over national security and the potential infiltration of hostile foreign operatives posing as migrants. Former President Donald Trump has recently reiterated warnings about violent sleeper cells possibly being embedded within migrant populations, a concern that incidents like these appear to reinforce.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)