Washington DC: On Tuesday, the US Department of Homeland Security announced that 11 Iranian nationals had been arrested for being in the United States illegally.

According to Reuters the arrests were carried out by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials as part of a broader immigration enforcement operation.

In addition to the Iranians, a US citizen was taken into custody for allegedly threatening law enforcement and for providing shelter to one of the individuals arrested. No further personal details or locations of the arrests were disclosed in the initial Homeland Security statement.

The timing of the arrests comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran, following the recent ceasefire in the Middle East and increased scrutiny over national security and immigration enforcement within the US.

Homeland Security officials have not linked the arrests to any national security threats as of now but stated investigations are ongoing.