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The arrests come as President Donald Trump’s administration increases enforcement targeting Iranian nationals, while officials warn of possible retaliation following recent US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Fox News reported.

Suspected ties to IRGC, Hezbollah among cases

“The presence in this country of undocumented migrants or Iranian nationals who have links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, in my judgment, a domestic law enforcement concern of the highest magnitude,” former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said on Fox & Friends.

Federal officials told Fox News that some of those arrested had criminal convictions for drugs, weapons, and domestic violence. “We don’t know who they are, where they came from, why they’re here,” former border czar Tom Homan said. “This is the biggest national security vulnerability we’ve ever seen.”

Former acting ICE Director Jonathan Fahey said the situation worsened under the previous administration’s policies. “We have probably 2 million known gotaways come through the last administration… we have no idea who went through,” he said.

Fox News also reported that one of the individuals arrested “had served as a sniper in the Iranian military within the last four years,” and that “some of those arrested have criminal histories, including charges related to drugs, weapons and domestic violence.”

The report said that roughly half of the 1,500 Iranian nationals released into the US during the Biden administration were released into the interior.

A Supreme Court ruling that permits deportation to third-party countries may apply to some of those currently in custody, though legal proceedings are ongoing, Fox News added.

Homeland Security identifies key suspects in earlier announcement

Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security released specific details about a subset of the same group of arrests. Eleven Iranian nationals were taken into custody in multiple states, including individuals with past deportation orders, terrorism concerns, and criminal records.

Among them was Ribvar Karimi, a former Iranian army sniper arrested in Alabama, who entered the US in 2024 on a fiancé visa and never adjusted his immigration status. Agents found him with an Iranian military ID. In Minnesota, DHS said agents arrested Mehran Makari Saheli, a former IRGC member who admitted ties to Hezbollah and had a prior felony conviction.

Other arrests occurred in Texas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Mississippi, and New York. Some individuals had been ordered removed years ago but remained in the country. One man was carrying a loaded pistol; others had histories involving domestic violence, drug trafficking, or immigration fraud.

All remain in federal custody pending removal, DHS said.

"This damage has not been minor—serious harm has been done to our facilities. They are currently conducting a thorough assessment of the damage," he said in an interview with the state broadcaster, referring to Iran's Atomic Energy Agency.

Araghchi said Tehran would not allow the UN nuclear watchdog chief Raphael Grossi into the country as the parliament considers exiting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which mandates inspections.

"For now, we do not intend to allow Mr. Grossi into Tehran. As for the inspectors, it still needs to be reviewed—if their presence aligns with parliamentary law, we’ll consider it. But clearly, if they want to inspect the destroyed facilities, it means they’re trying to assess the extent of the damage."

A US domestic political row has escalated over how effective US strikes on the nuclear facilities had been, with US President Donald Trump saying they "obliterated" their targets by senior Democrats still wary.

'Come, let's negotiate'

Aragchi detailed alleged diplomatic communications during the conflict in which he accused the United States and Israel of starting a conflict despite US-Iran nuclear talks.

"Europeans would call and say, 'Stop the war and return to diplomacy,' and I responded, 'What do you mean? We were in the middle of diplomacy!' They were the ones who started the war," Araghchi said.

The foreign minister, who was the chief interlocutor with the United States in two-month talks which ended with Israel's surprise attack earlier this month, warned against the triggering of United Nations "snapback" sanctions.

"Iran’s nuclear issue will become far more complex and difficult if the snapback mechanism is triggered—just as they made things more complicated by launching a war," Araghchi added, signaling a hard line on reviving talks or making a nuclear deal.

"They thought they could destroy our nuclear facilities, leave us empty-handed at the negotiating table, and then say, 'Come, let’s negotiate.' That didn’t happen.'"

The presentation in line with common government practice was made by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine.

“The briefing raised more questions than it answered," Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said baldly.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said he left the briefing unsure about whether the US President Donald Trump was telling the truth and urged talks.

"Ultimately, the only way to truly constrain Iran's nuclear program is diplomacy. You cannot bomb knowledge out of existence. No matter how many scientists you kill, there are still people in Iran who know how to work centrifuges," he told reporters.

"To me, it still appears that we have only set back the Iranian nuclear program by a handful of months," the Connecticut lawmaker added.

"I just do not think the President was telling the truth when he said this program was obliterated. There's certainly damage done to the program, but there is still significant remaining capability."

Rallying to Trump's defense, Arkansas Republican and Iran hawk Senator Tom Cotton said the president's detractors must be mentally ill.

"Some Democrats, some in the media, seem that's such a case of Trump derangement syndrome that they're rooting for the survival of Iran's nuclear program versus celebrating the success of our pilots and their crews," Cotton said.

"I think we've caused catastrophic damage to Iran's nuclear program," Cotton insisted.

"If you look at the whole span of what happened over 12 days, the targeting of Iran's nuclear scientists, the underground bunkers, the centrifuges, the centrifuge manufacturing sites, the gas to metal conversion sites, that's why we're confident - since all of those are single points of failure in an effort to get a nuclear weapon - that we have had an extraordinary success," he added.

Decision-making regarding the truce was handled instead by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and President Masoud Pezeshkian, who moved swiftly to respond to a ceasefire proposal from US President Donald Trump.

A source familiar with the details of the deliberations told Iran International that the council intended to respond quickly to the American proposal. However, at the time, there was no opportunity to contact Khamenei. The ceasefire was therefore approved and communicated without the supreme leader’s knowledge.

In recent days, Khamenei’s communication capabilities have been severely limited due to security concerns, particularly fears of an attack on his location.

Iran International previously reported that Khamenei and close family members, including his son Mojtaba, were relocated to a secure bunker in Lavizan, northeast Tehran, soon after the conflict began.

Earlier this month, Iran International reported that Khamenei had transferred key decision-making powers to the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after the start of the attacks by Israel. The transfer of authority was viewed as a precautionary step to ensure continuity of command in the event of an escalation or direct threat to the leader’s safety.

Iran has not officially confirmed the location of the Supreme Leader or the details of the internal deliberations surrounding the ceasefire.

First message after ceasefire

Earlier in the day, Khamenei released his first public message since the ceasefire took effect on Tuesday, delivering a televised address in which he declared victory over Israel and said the United States was dealt a blow during the conflict.

“The Zionist regime, with all its noise and claims, was nearly brought to its knees,” he said. “The United States gained nothing and received a harsh slap in return.”

The setting of Thursday’s video matched earlier wartime messages, suggesting he remains in the same secure location.

Trump had previously posted on Truth Social that the US knew where Khamenei was hiding, describing him as an “easy target” and warning that American patience was “wearing thin.”

However, in remarks following the ceasefire announcement, Trump adopted a more measured tone, suggesting that “regime change takes chaos,” and adding, “we don’t want to see so much chaos, so we’ll see how it does.”

He also confirmed that the US is preparing for a new round of talks with Iran in the coming week.

Khamenei said Israel was “crushed” under Iranian strikes and claimed the US failed to achieve its goals after entering the conflict to protect its ally.

“The Zionist regime, with all its noise and claims, was nearly brought to its knees,” he said, adding that the United States “gained nothing” and received “a harsh slap” in return.

The setting of Thursday’s video appeared identical to his previous wartime address. Iran International previously reported that Khamenei and his family were moved to a secure underground bunker in Lavizan, north of Tehran, shortly after the conflict began.

Iran’s supreme leader says US ultimately seeks 'surrender and defeat of Iran'

In his message, Khamenei responded to recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said Iran must “surrender.” Khamenei dismissed the demand as insulting and claimed it revealed the true objective of US policy.

Khamenei said Trump’s remarks revealed that the issue was not Iran’s nuclear program or missile development, but rather a broader effort to force the Islamic Republic into submission. “It’s no longer about enrichment or missiles,” he said. “It’s about surrender. That’s what they want.” He added that such language was “beneath the dignity of a president” and would only strengthen Iran’s resolve. “A country with our history and culture will never accept this kind of humiliation,” he said.

Last week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US knew Khamenei’s location and called him an “easy target,” adding, “We are not going to take him out—at least not for now.” He also warned that American patience was “wearing thin.”

Days later, Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Speaking afterward, he appeared to soften his tone, saying, “Regime change takes chaos, and ideally, we don't want to see so much chaos, so we'll see how it does.” He added that the US is preparing for a new round of talks with Iran next week.