PHOENIX, ARIZ. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Arizona), published as received.

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Mehrzad Asadi Eidivand, 41, an Iranian national, and his wife, Linet Vartanniavartanians, 37, a naturalized United States citizen, pleaded guilty on August 21 after a confrontation in June with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Eidivand pleaded guilty to Alien in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition. Vartanniavartanians pleaded guilty to Threats Against a Federal Law Enforcement Officer. Sentencing is scheduled for November 26, 2025, before United States District Judge David G. Campbell.

In his plea, Eidivand, a citizen of Iran without legal authority to be in the United States, admitted that, on or about June 21, 2025, in Tempe, Arizona, he possessed two firearms, which is prohibited for illegal aliens.

Vartanniavartanians admitted that, on the same date, when ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) came to her residence in Tempe, Arizona to contact her husband, she made threats intended to impede, intimidate, and interfere with the officers engaged in the performance of their official duties. Vartanniavartanias made the following threats:

  • “I’m not letting anybody enter my home without my, you know, permission. So anybody that tries to invade my home, I’m going to shoot them. Like I said, I have a gun, and it’s loaded.”
  • “Anybody trying to enter my house is going to be shooted. I don’t allow anybody in my house, including ICE.”
  • When asked about the location of the gun, I responded “in my hand right now.”
  • “I go outside the backyard, and I’ll just shoot them in the head.”

A conviction for Alien in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition carries a maximum term of 15 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, or both, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The maximum term of probation is five years, including a minimum term of one year if probation is imposed.

A conviction for Threats Against a Federal Law Enforcement Officer carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, or both, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. The maximum term of probation is five years, including a minimum term of one year if probation is imposed.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

ICE ERO, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI’s Phoenix Division conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.

CASE NUMBER:            CR-25-00931-PHX-DGC
RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-140_Asadi Eidivand, et al

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
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