SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Authorities arrested 11 people from Iran over the weekend who were reportedly living illegally in the U.S., including one in San Diego.
On Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in San Diego arrested Arkavan Babk Moirokorli, 57, who was convicted of forging an official seal. He is in ICE custody pending removal proceedings, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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Moirokorli was one of 11 arrested nationwide by ICE, including a person with admitted ties to Hezbollah, and an alleged former Iranian Army sniper.
The other Iranian nationals who were living in the U.S. illegally and were arrested by ICE are the following:
- Ribvar Karimi
- Arrested in Locust, Alabama on June 22
- Reportedly served as an Iranian Army sniper from 2018-2021
- Entered the U.S. on a K-1 visa (which is reserved for those engaged to be married to American citizens) in October 2024
- Behzad Sepehrian Bahary Nejad
- Arrested in Houston, Texas on June 22
- Had a final order of removal and was carrying a loaded 9mm pistol during the time of his arrest
- Entered the U.S. on an F-1 student visa on Dec. 6, 2016
- Hamid Reza Bayat
- Arrested in Houston, Texas on June 22
- Was ordered removed on Aug. 4, 2005 and was convicted of drug crimes twice plus convicted of driving with a suspended license once
- Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand
- Arrested in Tempe, Arizona on June 22
- Had a final order of removal and was convicted of threatening a law enforcement officer and possession of a firearm
- Entered the U.S. through San Ysidro in June 2012
- Was granted a “voluntary departure,” which allowed him to leave the U.S. without being formally removed by ICE, but did not leave
- Yousef Mehridehno
- Arrested in Gluckstadt, Mississippi on June 22
- Was a former lawful permanent resident whose residency was terminated in October 2017 after officials determined he lied on his original visa application and committed marriage fraud
- Listed as a known or suspected terrorist
- Mahmoud Shafiei
- Arrested in Colorado Springs on June 22
- First encountered by immigration officials in Seattle, Washington in January 1981 and was ordered removed in January 1987
- Had a criminal history of state and federal convictions for drug crimes and arrests for assault and child abuse
- Mehrdad Mehdipour
- Arrested in Colorado Springs on June 22
- Was living with Shafiei
- Was first encountered by U.S. Border Patrol in June 2023 near Rio Grande Valley, Texas and processed as an “expedited removal”
- Mehran Makari Saheli
- Arrested in St. Paul, Minnesota
- Convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in Minneapolis and sentenced to 15 months in prison
- Former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with an admitted link to Hezbollah
- Ordered removed on June 28, 2022, but illegally stayed in the U.S.
- Bahman Alizadeh Asfestani
- Arrested in San Francisco, California on June 22
- Convicted in 1994 for petty theft and in 1995 for possession of a controlled substance for sale
- Sentenced to 10 years in state prison for the drug conviction
- Mohammad Rafikian
- Arrested in Buffalo, New York on June 23
- Convicted of grand larceny, schemes to defraud, criminal impersonation and practicing as an attorney
ICE also arrested Linet Vartaniann, a U.S. citizen, for threatening a law enforcement officer and harboring one of the aforementioned Iranian nationals, Eidivand…