“... The people who have been in prison so far cannot therefore be described as prisoners or detainees. "They are hostages of the regime," says Schindler, who now heads the Counter Extremism Project, a think tank that focuses on terrorism. Ultimately, the Iranians are not interested in giving the German detainees a fair trial, but rather in convicting them on flimsy evidence in order to use them as political bargaining chips. This was also the case with Helmut Hofer. "The Iranians' idea was to exchange him for the terrorist Darabi and his accomplices," says Schindler. Kazem Darabi was the mastermind behind the Mykonos attack in Berlin, in which four Kurdish politicians in exile were killed. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Germany did not allow itself to be blackmailed by Iran.”
On January 18, 2020, ballistic missiles struck a mosque at the al-Estiqbal military camp in Marib, killing at least 116 people in what was reportedly one of the deadliest attacks in Yemen’s civil war. Although there was no immediate claim by the...
The Iranian-sponsored Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has grown militarily and politically despite U.N. resolutions and international agreements demanding its disarmament. In coming parliamentary elections May 6, Hezbollah will attempt to further...
CEP released updated resources on three of Iraq's most powerful Shiite militias, part of a government sanctioned umbrella group that is heavily funded by and beholden to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Several of the groups have fought extensively on...
Iraqi Shiite militias have officially joined the fight to retake Mosul from ISIS, despite calls from groups like Human Rights Watch to ban these abusive militias from participating in the fight for the last remaining major city in Iraq under ISIS...
[CEP Senior Director] Terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler analyzes the Geneva negotiations on Iran: The US is not taking a clear stance, and Israel may prefer a preemptive strike. “The danger of a conflagration remains,” says Schindler.
The US and Iran are currently negotiating the controversial Iranian nuclear program in Geneva. The US has probably abandoned the idea of regime change, says Hans Jakob Schindler from the think tank Counter Extremism Project.
In fact, the regime has long been using the conflict with the US for propaganda purposes to strengthen its own position. "The Iranian regime wants to send two messages. Domestically: 'We are strong.' And internationally: 'We can also defend ourselves,'" Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project, recently explained in an interview with this newsroom.
Counter Extremism Project's Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses the ongoing and developing situation in Iran.
Iran fires missiles at the Strait of Hormuz during a military exercise, blocking the central oil export route. Negotiations with the US remain inconclusive. “The Iranians will have difficulty blocking the straits in a real emergency,” says Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
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