U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has stunningly released an Iranian national who was held in Blount County last year. During a multi-state ICE enforcement operation in June 2025, Ribvar Karimi was taken into custody.
Karimi was freed from ICE custody, according to Cullman Daily . The outlet claims that information about the conditions of his release and the current state of any pending immigration proceedings has not been fully revealed. ICE detained Karimi and 11 other Iranian nationals in June in Locust Fork, Blount County, according to DHS.
Ribvar Karimi served four years in the Iranian Army before obtaining a visa to enter the United States.
This comes as the war in Iran continues to drag on.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt strongly condemned the dishonest mainstream media for promoting Iranian regime propaganda and falsely asserting that President Trump had accepted Tehran’s absurd 10-point “wish list” as a legitimate deal.
Steven Cheung, Assistant to the President and White House Communications Director, criticized a media outlet for spreading the fake news regarding President Trump’s supposed agreement with Iran and the so-called “10-point plan.”
“You have no idea what the f**k you’re talking about you loser. Go back to whatever hole you crawled out of because you clearly can’t read,” Cheung said in an X post in response to a post from self-described “socialist” and “antifascist” journalist Owen Jones.
In his own X post, Jones laid out the 10-point plan which was published by Iranian state media and had absolutely zero confirmation from independent informed sources.
“Have no doubt: This is the biggest strategic defeat suffered by the US since its emergence as a superpower,” Jones wrote in his post. The White House has repeatedly stated that the Iranian claims are false.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also addressed the information on Wednesday, making it plain that whoever was reporting the Iranian 10-point plan as legitimate in any way, shape, or form was doing a disservice to the American people.
“I’ve seen a lot of inaccurate coverage today from the media about these negotiations and these plans already, so let me be clear and correct the record,” she began. “The Iranians originally put forward a 10-point plan that was fundamentally unserious, unacceptable, and completely discarded.
“It was literally thrown in the garbage by President Trump and his negotiating team. Many outlets in this room have falsely reported on that plan as being acceptable to the United States, and that is false,” she stated.
She added:
The President’s red lines—namely, the end of Iranian enrichment in Iran—have not changed. And the idea that President Trump would ever accept an Iranian wish list as a deal is completely absurd.
The President will only make a deal that serves the best interests of the United States of America, and he and his negotiating team will focus on this effort over the next two weeks—so long as the Strait of Hormuz remains open, with no limitations or delays.
These extraordinarily sensitive and complex negotiations will take place behind closed doors over the course of the next two weeks.
I would strongly advise the media against running with narratives that have no basis in fact. What Iran says publicly—or feeds to all of you in the press—is much different than what they communicate privately to the United States, the President, and his team.
Never underestimate President Trump’s ability to successfully advance America’s interests and broker peace. President Trump has a proven track record of achieving good deals on behalf of the United States and the American people, and he will only accept one that puts America first.
Minn. Republican Issues Deadline to Omar Over Burgeoning Fraud Scandal
The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee has set a May 5 deadline for Rep. Ilhan Omar to provide records and communications related to her potential involvement in the Feeding Our Future investigation.
The request follows Omar’s absence from a scheduled committee hearing earlier in the week, despite receiving a formal invitation. Committee Chair Kristin Robbins, a Republican, said the congresswoman did not attend the hearing and did not respond to multiple outreach attempts from the panel.
“The fact that she ghosted us — she would not even respond to multiple inquiries to a state legislature where she used to serve,” Robbins said, according to NewsNation. “I think it shows disdain for Minnesota taxpayers that she’s unwilling to even answer these questions.”
Robbins sent a formal letter to Omar last week demanding:
– All written and electronic communications between Omar’s office and the convicted owners/operators of Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis (a key Feeding Our Future site where Omar held multiple campaign events).
– Communications with more than a dozen individuals who have already been convicted in the massive fraud case.
– Records related to Omar’s sponsorship of the MEALS Act — the 2020 federal legislation that dramatically loosened eligibility rules for child nutrition
The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Oversight Committee said it may consider additional steps if Rep. Ilhan Omar does not comply with the request, though state lawmakers have limited authority to compel action from a sitting member of Congress.
The investigation is tied to the Feeding Our Future case, which federal prosecutors say involved more than $250 million in misused child nutrition funds intended to provide meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Authorities have described the case as one of the largest fraud schemes of its kind in the United States.
Federal prosecutors have alleged that large portions of the funds in the Feeding Our Future case were diverted to personal expenses, including luxury goods, real estate, and overseas accounts, with many transactions routed through nonprofit organizations based in Minnesota.
Authorities identified Safari Restaurant as one of several sites that submitted substantial reimbursement claims under the program. Omar has had past public interactions with the restaurant, including campaign-related events and appearances tied to community programs, reports said.
The Minnesota House panel has raised questions about Omar’s legislative role, including her support for the MEALS Act. Critics of the law argue it reduced certain oversight measures, while supporters have said it was intended to expand access to food assistance during the pandemic.
“She created the conditions that allowed all these bad actors to come in and bill for thousands of meals a day,” Robbins said. “One little tiny restaurant serving 5,000 meals a day, seven days a week — it was incomprehensible numbers.”
“The American people and certainly the taxpayers of Minnesota deserve her to come and answer these questions,” Robbins added. “If she had nothing to do with it, if she had no ill intent, if she had no idea — she should come and defend that.”
Another member of a Minnesota family tied to the burgeoning federal fraud cases was expected to plead guilty two weeks ago, according to court records and reporting, to deport Omar over claims she committed marriage fraud to enter the U.S. years ago.
Gandi Mohamed, 45, entered a plea at a hearing earlier this month, where he was set to plead guilty or no contest in connection with the scheme, Fox9 Minneapolis reported.
Prosecutors allege the family fraudulently claimed to provide meals through a federal child nutrition program while diverting approximately $14 million for personal use. Authorities say Mohamed is the sixth member of his family to face conviction in the case.