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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Federal agents arrested 11 Iranian nationals, including a watchlisted individual, over a 48-hour period as part of targeted operations across eight states and nine cities.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and 11 Iranian nationals, including Mehran Makari Sahel and Ribvar Karmi.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The arrests took place over 48 hours starting Sunday, June 22, in states including Minnesota, Mississippi, and Alabama.
💬KEY QUOTE: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem emphasized proactive measures to counter potential threats, stating, “We have to watch for all of it, and to be diligent on all of it, and we’ll continue to do so.”
🎯IMPACT: The arrests highlight continued federal efforts to target threats to public safety presented by illegals, especially following President Donald J. Trump’s authorization of military strikes against Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
IN FULL
In a series of operations spanning eight states and nine cities, federal agents arrested 11 Iranian nationals, including one individual on the U.S. known or suspected terrorist list. Among those arrested was Mehran Makari Sahel in St. Paul, Minnesota, alleged by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to have ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah.
Five of the arrested migrants had prior criminal convictions, including charges for grand larceny, drug possession, and firearm offenses. One migrant, Yousef Mehridehno, was apprehended in Mississippi after living in the U.S. illegally for nearly eight years. Federal authorities determined he had lied on his visa application and added him to the terrorist watchlist earlier this year.
Ribvar Karmi, arrested in northern Alabama, was found carrying an Iranian Army identification card and is alleged to have served as a sniper for Iran’s military from 2018 to 2021. He entered the U.S. on a K-1 visa, designated for migrants engaged to American citizens, and now remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
In addition to the 11 Iranian nationals, federal agents also arrested U.S. citizen Linet Vartaniann on charges of threatening law enforcement and harboring an illegal alien. ICE officials allege she threatened to “shoot officers in the head” during a confrontation at her home.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activated its National Terrorism Advisory System following U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear weapons facilities over the weekend. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem emphasized proactive measures to counter potential threats, stating, “We have to watch for all of it, and to be diligent on all of it, and we’ll continue to do so.”
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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Israel has defended striking Iranian targets in Tehran hours before a ceasefire went into effect, resulting in Iranian strikes and Israeli counter-strikes after the ceasefire and angering President Donald J. Trump.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, and President Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: June 24, 2025, Israel and Iran.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks.” – Office of the Israeli Prime Minister.
🎯IMPACT: President Trump, who intervened in the Israel-Iran war to deliver a decisive blow to Iran’s nuclear facilities, is now adopting a more aggressive diplomatic posture to bring the conflict to a close.
IN FULL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to President Donald J. Trump’s criticism of Israeli forces launching a massive attack on Iran shortly before a ceasefire was due to take effect, resulting in subsequent violations by both parties.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli Air Force “forcefully attacked in the heart of Tehran, struck regime targets and eliminated hundreds of Basij and Iranian security forces personnel” at 03:00 AM, just hours before a scheduled ceasefire was to begin at 07:00 AM.
“Shortly before the ceasefire was due to take effect, Iran launched a barrage of missiles, one of which took the lives of four of our citizens in Be’er Sheva,” the statement continues, asserting that six minutes after the ceasefire took effect at 07:00 AM, “Iran launched one missile at Israeli territory, and two additional missiles at 10:25.”
Despite acknowledging that the missiles “were either intercepted or fell in open areas, and caused neither casualties nor damage,” the Israeli statement defends subsequent strikes on Iran as a response to the Islamic Republic’s “violations.”
President Trump was highly critical of Israel’s actions on Tuesday morning, saying, “Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before. The biggest load that we’ve seen.”
“I’m not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, ‘OK, now you have 12 hours,’ you don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them,” he continued, adding that Israel and Iran “don’t know what the f**k they’re doing.”
Despite defending its strikes before the ceasefire officially went into effect, Netanyahu’s office acknowledged that, “Pursuant to the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israel has refrained from additional attacks.”
The Israeli statement added that, “In the conversation, President Trump expressed his great appreciation for Israel, which achieved all of its objectives for the war, as well as his confidence in the stability of the ceasefire.”
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