Iranian Military Agent Caught Trying to Enter U.S.

Iranian Military Agent Caught Trying to Enter U.S.

An Iranian citizen identified as a senior member of the country's Basij military force was caught trying to enter the United States posing as a cancer researcher, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation who told the Washington Free Beacon that the Trump administration should begin investigating how the individual was granted a U.S. visa in the first place. 

Seyed Mohsen Dehnavi, who has been identified as a member of Iran's highly vetted volunteer Basij force, was turned away from entering the United States at Boston's Logan Airport. 

Sources familiar with the situation said that Dehnavi is billing himself as a medical researcher and was to assume residency at a Boston-based hospital. He was detained earlier this week at Logan Airport along with his family and later sent back to Iran.

While some media outlets have portrayed the situation as U.S. officials preventing an Iranian doctor from performing legitimate work, Iranian sources familiar with Dehnavi's past said that he has close ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Basij fighting force. 

"Here are the facts: Mr. Dehnavi is a high-ranking member of IRGC's Basij, has been involved in the IRGC's military research programs, has played a key role in oppressing dissidents, and Iran's Supreme Leader has given him his own keffiyeh as a gift," Saeed Ghasseminejad, a prominent Iranian dissident and regional expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told the Free Beacon. 

Other media outlets have independently identified Dehnavi as a top Basij member who was involved in efforts to suppress dissident and reformist voices in Iran. 

The situation highlights growing efforts by Iran to penetrate the United States with supporters of the hardline regime. Iran was one of several Muslim majority nations included in the Trump administration's controversial immigration pause due to its global efforts to spread terrorism and its radical ideology. 

"He is a well-known figure and a simple Google search would have shown his identity. Why has this not been done?" Ghasseminejad, who has been closely tracking the situation, asked in an interview. "Who in the U.S. facilitated Dehnavi's travel? Did they know they were helping the IRGC to send a high-ranking member to the United States?"