DHS thwarts Iranian terrorist threats at the northern border, World Cup ties

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

Iranian terrorist threats continue at the northern border, this time the threat also is connected to the World Cup and the Iranian National Guard Corps.

The IRGC is the militant arm of Iran’s military known for supporting terrorism and militant groups committing terrorist acts in Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and targeting U.S. military.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary MarkWayne Mullin told Fox News Business on Sunday that Border Patrol agents stationed at the U.S.-Canada border have “seen an unusual amount of Iranian nationals trying to sneak in through our northern border. We’ve seen arrests go up daily on Iranian nationals.”

The influx is “worrisome” because the majority of Iranians being apprehending have direct ties to the IRGC, he said, which “is not the regular army of Iran, they are the true believers of this radical regime.”

Mullin also said federal officials were seeing IRGC ties to the Iranian World Cup team, referring to so-called support staff. The U.S. granted visas and admittance to 53 Iranians. Those who weren’t admitted “had direct ties to the IRGC and weren’t part of the team’s normal traveling group,” he said.

He also said Iran is “an adversary that you can’t trust” and World Cup players and support staff who were admitted to the U.S. were vetted. When asked if anyone traveling with the Iranian World Cup team, including its players, were connected to the IRGC, Mullins replied, “absolutely not.”

It is unclear how many of the IRGC members attempting entry into the U.S. were already living in Canada.

A Canadian member of Parliament warned in March that there were at least 700 IRGC members living in Canada who pose a national security threat, The Center Square reported.

Melissa Lantsman, a conservative MP for Thornhill, Ontario, warned that Iranian refugees and Canadians of Iranian descent are “terrified that the repression and reach of that regime is right here in our country. We know of senior members of the regime who have worked out in the same gyms as they have, a neighborhood gym in my own constituency. We know of senior members of the regime eating in fancy steak houses. We know of senior members of the regime’s kids who are studying in universities here.

“There has been violence in our communities. There have been people kidnapped. There have been, potentially, murders because of the reach of the mullah’s thugs.”

In addition to Iranians denied visas, Iraqi and Somali players were also prevented entry by DHS officials, The Center Square reported. The Lawfare Project told The Center Square that it’s urged DHS to identify and process for removal those who’ve publicly glorified Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists, including a British journalist in the country covering the World Cup.

The Iranian northern border apprehensions come after the greatest number of known or suspected terrorists were apprehended at the northern border during the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.

The apprehensions also come after federal agents apprehended more than 300 Iranians who attempted to illegally enter the U.S. nationwide in the first year of the Trump administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.

This was after at least 1,500 Iranians were apprehended by Border Patrol agents nationwide from 2021 to 2024 during the Biden administration. The Biden administration directed Border Patrol agents to release them even though Iranians are considered “Special Interest Aliens” and citizens of a designated State Sponsor of Terrorism.

Border Patrol agents released nearly half of the Iranians they apprehended into the country during the Biden administration, 729; Trump officials say weren’t properly vetted, The Center Square exclusively reported.

At least 18,000 illegal foreign nationals on the federal terrorist watchlist have been identified by the Trump administration who it says were released into the country by the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.