The United Arab Emirates (UAE), in particular, plays a key role in Tehran's covert dealings. "An Iranian company or an Iranian businessman can buy a company in one of the UAE's free trade zones that is set up there for a transaction," Hans-Jakob Schindler, head of the Berlin-based think tank Counter Extremism Project, told our editorial team. "It has a managing director, a board of directors, and is subject to regular auditing. It's a completely legal company, but after the transaction is completed, this 'overnight company' is dissolved."

Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed regarding Russian drones disrupting air travel in Denmark. 

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed for segment: Drones were again circling Danish airports yesterday evening and overnight. Who sent them is still unclear. But Copenhagen is certain that hybrid warfare is behind it. NATO is taking the situation very seriously, according to its Secretary General Rutte. And while Germany wants to invest more in drone defense, the Defense Minister sees Russia behind the attack.

Two days after the  drone sightings in Copenhagen and Oslo, Denmark reported further drone sightings at several airports in the country. The Danish government and German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt are calling it a  "hybrid attack ." Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated that it appears to be the work of a professional actor. The drones appeared simultaneously in several locations and  disrupted air traffic in Aalborg and, previously, in Copenhagen. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had previously described the attacks as  "the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date." Hans-Jakob Schindler is a security expert at the Counter Extremism Project. In this podcast, he explains who might be behind it and why Denmark, of all places, was targeted.

In the area of "politically motivated crimes (PMK) on the left", the increase was particularly high at 172%, specifically 109 offenses (2023: 40). Experts view this with concern. "With Israel-related anti-Semitism, one topic has simply become much more prominent in the left-wing extremist scene since October 2023," explains extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, Director of the Counter Extremism Project in Berlin, in an interview with Ippen.Media's Münchner Merkur. Although this form of anti-Semitism has always existed in some left-wing extremist circles, "it has become the dominant theme at times since October 2023." Meanwhile, the number of violent crimes committed by right-wing extremists has risen. Experts like Schindler have been observing this phenomenon for some time. "The propensity for violence in the right-wing extremist scene is increasing significantly," says Schindler.

The group shares the name of the John Brown Gun Club, which is listed as a “leftist gun-rights group originally based in Kansas” by US NGO The Counter Extremism Project.

Around 2.6 million Afghans have returned since January, including many who have spent decades abroad or who are setting foot in Afghanistan for the first time.

"The risk that Islamic State Khorasan sees these newly arrived Afghans as a potential recruitment pool is high," Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former coordinator of the UN committee monitoring militant groups, told AFP.

Such rhetoric spread within hours to other Telegram communities and social media websites including Trump’s Truth Social platform. Violent groups have pounced on the recent news events to promote themselves, rehabilitate their images and reach new audiences, said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit that tracks such activity online.

“Propagandists are also hoping that federal action will spill over to journalists and those who monitor the extreme right,” he said.

The John Brown Gun Club is a leftist group that originally “sought to militarize the white working class and spur it toward a social-justice revolution,” according to the Counter Extremism Project. Although the club claims to simply act as armed security at protests, local chapters have often been associated with other left-wing militant groups like Antifa and have been involved in violent attacks.

Hans-Jakob Schindler, former coordinator of the UN monitoring committee on militant groups, told AFP: “The risk that Islamic State Khorasan sees these newly arrived Afghans as a potential recruitment pool is high.” He noted that since 2021, IS-K has recruited both disaffected Taliban members and Afghans excluded from the new governing structures. Schindler says “Many foiled attacks in Europe between 2023 and 2025 have been linked back to the Islamic State.”