ICE arrests Iranian national in St. Paul who they say has connections to Hezbollah

ICE arrests man with terrorist connections

The Department of Homeland Security says the man arrested in St. Paul was in the United States illegally, is a former members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, and has connections to terror organization Hezbollah.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A man living in St. Paul was among 11 Iranian nationals arrested by ICE this past weekend, following an American strike on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iranian arrested in St. Paul

What we know:

The Department of Homeland Security announced that Mehran Makari Saheli, 56, was arrested on Sunday in St. Paul by ICE agents. In a news release issued on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security says Saheli, an Iranian national, was ordered to be removed from the United States back in June 2022 but remained in the U.S. illegally.

The Department of Homeland Security says Saheli is a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran and has "admitted connections to Hezbollah."

Saheli also has past convictions related to fraudulent immigration documents and possession of a weapon by a felon. ICE says Saheli was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the weapons charge.

Trump on Israel-Iran: 'They don't know what the [expletive] they're doing'

President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning, after Israel and Iran both reportedly broke the president's ceasefire order, said, "We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the [expletive] they’re doing."

ICE arrests 11 Iranian nationals over weekend

The backstory:

Saheli's arrest was part of a weekend operation by ICE that netted the arrests of 11 Iranian nationals. The arrests came as President Trump ordered strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, amid a days-long conflict between Israel and Iran.

Following the strike, Iran threatened retaliation against the United States. On Monday, Iran fired a series of missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar. President Trump said all but one missile was intercepted, and no injuries were reported from the attack.

On Monday, President Trump announced a ceasefire had been brokered between Israel and Iran that would be phased in over 24 hours. However, early Tuesday morning, the president lashed out at both countries for continuing attacks overnight.