Eye on Extremism: April 22, 2026
Top Stories
Fox News: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard sidelines president as military grip expands
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the Iranian armed forces, has blocked President Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidential appointments and erected what sources described as a security cordon around Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, a report published Tuesday by Iran International said.
Reuters: US halts Iraq dollar cash shipment after militia strikes, sources say
The United States has halted a shipment of about $500 million in cash bound for Iraq and suspended parts of its security cooperation with Baghdad, in a move aimed at pressuring the Iraqi government over the actions of Iran-backed militias, Iraqi sources told Reuters. The measures were taken as the fallout from the Iran war increasingly pulls Iraq into the conflict, with Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq launching repeated drone and rocket attacks on U.S. facilities and neighbouring states in support of Tehran.
CEP Mentions
Welt TV: IRAN WAR: Expert warns! "This repressive apparatus continues to function fully."
According to Hans-Jakob Schindler, an internal split is emerging in Iran. Representatives around Araghchi are signaling a willingness to talk, while the Revolutionary Guard, through the Tasnim news agency, is countering this and obstructing negotiations.
Analysis
The ruling of a French appeals court that the poisoning of a Jewish family by their Algerian nanny was not an act of antisemitism has shed light on what may be a wider phenomenon of the French legal system: not recognizing Jew-hatred as an aggravating factor.
United States
Fox News: 'Narco-terrorist' family members targeted in Rubio's latest visa crackdown
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa bans on 75 family members and associates tied to the Sinaloa cartel, expanding the Trump administration's crackdown beyond drug traffickers to those that profit from ill-gotten gains. The Sinaloa cartel was one of eight drug cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in February 2025. The classification allows the United States to pursue tougher criminal penalties and greater military intervention against drug cartels and their members.
Experts are calling on President Donald Trump to issue a new executive order to attack a "dominant" socialist-inspired ideology they say is the "foundation" of a growing domestic terrorist movement in the United States. Fox News Digital exclusively reviewed a report that details how diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices have continued to thrive on hundreds of U.S. campuses through a more deeply rooted ideology, "intersectionality." The Legal Insurrection Foundation and the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies issued the report.
The Second Circuit on Tuesday affirmed three concurrent life sentences for the man behind an ISIS-inspired attempted pipe bomb attack between the Times Square subway station and the Port Authority bus terminal in December 2017, while reversing one conviction based on a narrow reading of the material support statute.
JTA: The Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas says Zionists ‘talk like Black people during slavery’
In an interview on a popular web series posted Tuesday, rock musician Julian Casablancas alleged that “American Zionists” are deeply privileged yet behave as if they are “Black people during slavery.” The comment appears in a 21-minute “uncut” edition of the web series SubwayTakes, in which host Kareem Rahma interviews both famous and up-and-coming New Yorkers about their most controversial opinions.
Fox News: ‘Martyrs’: Michigan Dems nominate Hezbollah-praising candidate after ousting Jewish regent
A University of Michigan Board of Regents member was ousted after Michigan Democrats selected a candidate who shared social media posts praising Hezbollah as the party's nominee. Amir Makled, a trial lawyer, bested incumbent Regent Jordan Acker, who is Jewish, for the Democratic Party's nomination at the state party's convention over the weekend, sparking criticism from a former leader of the state's Democratic Party.
People were taking a stand against antisemitism in Skokie Tuesday. A community gathering to address hateful crimes began in the evening. The gathering aimed to bring people together in solidarity with their Jewish neighbors. It was organized in response to two incidents this past weekend, during which Jewish youth reported being confronted with antisemitic language.
NBC King 5: DOJ to investigate UW over handling of antisemitism
The U.S. Department of Justice will investigate the University of Washington over concerns about how it has handled antisemitism on the campus. Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the DOJ, said in a post on X that she authorized a civil rights investigation Friday.
A family is suing Alcuin School, a prominent private school in Dallas, accusing the school of repeated failure to adequately address incidents of antisemitism at school events and in the classroom. The school is pushing back on the characterization and plans to fight the allegations in court.
Canada
A new report from the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights is urging the federal government to take immediate and coordinated action to address what it describes as a growing threat of antisemitism across the country.
South America
JNS: Lawmakers from 15 Latin American nations unite to combat antisemitism
The First Congress of Latin American Legislators Against Antisemitism was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, last week, to develop a coordinated strategy to combat rising Jew-hatred across the continent. The three-day forum culminated in a joint declaration formulated by the 35 participants from 15 countries, the association that organized the event, the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said in a statement on Sunday.
European Union
Afghanistan International: UN Rapporteur Raises Concerns Over EU Talks With Taliban
The UN’s human rights rapporteur for Afghanistan has raised concerns over EU plans to host Taliban officials for talks on deporting Afghan migrants. Richard Bennett said on X that any forced returns, given widespread human rights violations, risk breaching the principle of non-refoulement, especially for women, activists and former government employees.
Estonia
Jerusalem Post: Estonian Holocaust memorial 'extensively damaged' by vandalism
An Estonian Holocaust memorial was discovered to have been destroyed on Friday, according to the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board and Estonian Jewish Community. The Ereda memorial in the Ida-Viru County was "extensively damaged," police told The Jerusalem Post, with the monument dented, several pieces broken off, and its fastenings bent.
Italy
A 17-year-old boy from Cagliari is among those under investigation in an operation coordinated by the Milan Public Prosecutor's Office and the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office which dismantled an online network of young neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic extremists .
United Kingdom
Jerusalem Post: At least eight involved in UK arsons against Jewish sites released on bail
While the first conviction was secured on Tuesday night in relation to a spate of arson attacks against Jewish, Israeli, or Iranian dissident-affiliated sites, the 17-year-old became the latest involved in the incidents to be released on bail.
The Guardian: Inquiry clears Bristol school of antisemitism for postponing Jewish MP’s visit
An independent inquiry into a Bristol secondary school that found itself at the centre of a media storm after postponing a visit by a local Jewish MP, has found no evidence of antisemitism or influence from lobby groups. Damien Egan, the Labour MP for Bristol North East and vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel, was due to visit Bristol Brunel academy (BBA) last September to talk to students about democracy and his work in parliament.
A TERRORIST who was jailed for planning to bomb the London Stock Exchange was allowed to stay in the UK on human rights grounds. Shah Rahman was one of four al-Qaeda-inspired extremists locked up in 2012 over the sick plot to bomb the capital.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Tajmir Jawad, the Taliban deputy intelligence chief, said the Taliban remains on high alert to counter opposition groups, as he visited Badakhshan province following reports of rising threats. Audio of his remarks, delivered to Taliban officials in the province, was published by several local media outlets on Tuesday.
Afghanistan International: EU Special Envoy Visits Kabul For Talks With Taliban Officials
The Taliban say the European Union’s special envoy for Afghanistan has visited Kabul and held talks with officials, focusing on cooperation and relations. According to a statement from the Taliban foreign ministry on Wednesday, Gilles Bertrand, the EU special envoy for Afghanistan, met Mohammad Naeem, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, to discuss political, economic and trade ties, as well as long-term cooperation.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Assure Pakistan Afghan Territory Won’t Be Used For Drone Attacks
Sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has assured Pakistan it will not allow drone operations from Afghan territory that could disrupt Islamabad’s security amid efforts to facilitate talks between the United States and Iran.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Reuters: In Gaza, first local vote in years offers gauge of Hamas popularity
Palestinians in one of the only Gaza cities not overrun by Israeli ground forces during the war will vote this weekend in municipal elections that will feature some pro-Hamas candidates, offering a rare barometer of the militant group's popularity. The vote in Deir al-Balah is part of Palestinian Authority municipal elections that Palestinians have cast as a display of national unity against a U.S. plan for Gaza that they believe intends to entrench their separation from the occupied West Bank.
JNS: State Dept finds PA continued terrorists’ payments despite reform claim
The Palestinian Authority continued to pay stipends to terrorists even after it said it would reform, according to a new U.S. State Department report. The report, compiled between August 2025 and January 2026, is the first time the U.S. government has confirmed that the P.A. “provided payments to convicted terrorists released from Israeli prisons in October 2025 under President Trump’s 20-point peace plan.”
JNS: IDF eliminates Islamic Jihad terrorists in southern Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces said overnight Tuesday that troops had struck armed terrorists from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization operating in southern Gaza who posed a threat to forces deployed in the area. According to the military, several armed operatives were identified during the night acting in a manner that endangered Israeli forces in the southern Gaza Strip.
Iran
CNN: Iran’s new supreme leader is nowhere to be seen. That might be helping the regime to survive
More than six weeks after he was announced as their new supreme leader following the assassination of his father, Iranians have still not seen or heard Mojtaba Khamenei.
Iran International: Iran Guards say two ships seized in Hormuz after ceasefire extension
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it had seized two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and directed them toward Iranian shores, hours after Donald Trump said the United States would extend a ceasefire with Iran.
Iran International: IRGC-linked media hints at threat to Persian Gulf undersea internet cables
IRGC-linked Tasnim has pointedly mapped the Persian Gulf’s undersea internet cables and cloud infrastructure in what appears to be a thinly veiled warning that the region’s digital backbone may now be in Iran’s line of fire.
IranWire: League Suspended by Security Order; IRGC Counts on World Cup for War
According to sources cited by IranWire, the “Supreme National Security Council of the Islamic Republic” and the “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)” have taken full control of decisions related to the Iranian Premier League, removing authority from the Football Federation and stopping matches until after the World Cup.
Israel
Times of Israel: IDF says Hezbollah breached truce by launching rockets at troops, drone at Israel
The Hezbollah terror group violated a ceasefire in Lebanon on Tuesday by firing several rockets at Israeli troops stationed in the south of the country, as well as launching a drone at Israel, the military said. Hezbollah took responsibility for the attacks, which it claimed were in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
A second round of direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Thursday, an Israeli and a US official tell The Times of Israel on Monday. The meeting, the official said, will take place at the State Department in Washington, and will include staffers from the Israeli, Lebanese, and US sides. Israel will be represented by its envoy to the US, and Lebanon by its former ambassador to Washington, Simon Karam.
Naharnet: Israel FM calls on Lebanon to 'work together' with Israel against Hezbollah
Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday urged Beirut to make joint efforts with Israel to counter the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, ahead of talks between the countries set to resume in Washington. "Tomorrow the direct talks between Israel and Lebanon will resume in Washington DC. I call on the government of Lebanon -- let's work together against the terror state that Hezbollah built in your territory," Gideon Saar said in a speech to diplomats at a function marking Israel's 78th Independence Day.
Lebanon
AFP: Beirut to request one-month ceasefire extension at DC talks, says Lebanese official
Lebanon will request a one-month extension of the ceasefire during its meeting with Israel in Washington tomorrow, a Lebanese official tells AFP.
Times of Israel: IDF says troops raided Hezbollah compound in Dibbine ahead of ceasefire
Before the ceasefire took effect in Lebanon, the IDF says, troops raided the village of Dibbine, during which some 70 Hezbollah sites were struck, and over 20 terror operatives were killed. Dibbine is located nearly 12 kilometers north of Israel’s border.
Times of Israel: Hezbollah claims drone attack on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the drone attack on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. The terror group says it targeted an Israeli artillery site in the Ras al-Bayada headland south of Tyre, in response to Israeli violations of the ceasefire.
Naharnet: Second French peacekeeper dies after ambush blamed on Hezbollah
A second French soldier died on Wednesday from wounds suffered in a weekend ambush against U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon blamed on Hezbollah, President Emmanuel Macron said.A first soldier, staff sergeant Florian Montorio, was shot dead in the Saturday ambush, for which Hezbollah has denied responsibility.
Naharnet: Hezbollah says targeted Israeli post in south Lebanon with drone
Hezbollah on Wednesday said it targeted an Israeli artillery position in the southern town of al-Bayyada with an attack drone, adding that a control room went up in flames. The Israeli army had earlier said it "intercepted" a drone launched by Hezbollah toward Israeli troops in south Lebanon, calling it a blatant violation of the ceasefire.
Naharnet: Wounded Hezbollah fighter turns himself in to Israel after receiving first aid in Rmeish
Lebanese Civil Defense personnel in the southern border town of Rmeish on Wednesday provided first aid to a wounded Hezbollah fighter who had crawled to Ain Ebel from Bint Jbeil, the National News Agency said. "They then contacted the Lebanese Red Cross to transport him to a safe area," NNA added.
Naharnet: Hezbollah says attacked Israeli post in response to 'over 200 violations'
Hezbollah on Tuesday launched several rockets towards Israeli forces operating in the southern Lebanese town of Robb Tlatin, which is inside the Israeli-occupied buffer zone in south Lebanon, the Israeli army said. "Within a few minutes, the IDF (Israeli army) closed the circle and attacked the launchpad from which the missiles were fired," it added.
Yemen
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, leader of Yemen’s Houthi movement, warned Tuesday of escalation if Israel resumes military operations, describing the current ceasefire as fragile and liable to collapse at any moment. In a televised speech marking the so-called “Day of the Slogan,” al-Houthi said the truce was merely a pause in an ongoing conflict and predicted new rounds of confrontation could erupt in the near future.
Jerusalem Post: Houthis signal return, warn of broader regional escalation
Yemen's Houthis are closely monitoring US movements in the Red Sea and are making military preparations for a possible confrontation with the United States and Israel in the coming days, according to a report by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which is affiliated with Hezbollah.
Africa
Business Insider Africa: Niger and Mali accuse neighbours of sponsoring terrorism in the Sahel
Foreign ministers of Niger and Mali have accused neighbouring countries of supporting terrorism, while signalling openness to limited cooperation with the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, from which they formally withdrew last year.
Africa
Africa News: Two hostages captured in Niger freed by Russia's Africa Corps in Mali
Russia's army said Tuesday its Africa Corps unit had freed two hostages — employees of Russian geology company — held in Mali, almost two years after they were captured by an al-Qaeda-linked group in neighbouring Niger. In August 2024, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM or JNIM) released a video featuring two men it said had been captured in Mbanga, southwest Niger, from a Russian geology company.
Somalia
Hiiraan Online: Puntland displays bodies of ISIS fighters after US airstrike in Calmiskaad mountains
Puntland regional forces on Wednesday displayed the bodies of more than 10 suspected Islamic State (ISIS) fighters killed in a U.S airstrike in the Jaceel Valley area of the Calmiskaad mountain range.
Australia
The Australian: Bondi massacre a ‘how-to’ manual
Terror group Islamic State has urged Muslims to follow the example of the Bondi shooters responsible for the murder of 15 people in December last year and conduct similar attacks, describing the Sydney massacre as an “instruction” manual for how to liberate Jerusalem, in its latest English language newsletter. The article, carried in the latest Voice of Khurasan newsletter produced by the Afghanistan-based Islamic State Khorasan branch and headlined “The Sydney Attack – Revenge of the Oppressed Ummah”, has prompted warnings that Australia must do more to clamp down on hate preachers in both the physical and digital space.
Technology
Daily Telegraph: Disturbing vision shows Roblox users play as ISIS fighters
Gaming giants including Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite and Steam have been accused of not doing enough to block terrorism content after their online games promoted pro-Nazi, pro-ISIS and other terror-related material to children. A growing body of evidence, including reporting from The Daily Telegraph in February, has unearthed of Roblox simulations of school shootings, instances of users playing as ISIS fighters. On Minecraft, far-right extremists have created fake Holocaust worlds featuring shooter training simulators, and builders emblazoned with Nazi symbols like swastikas and the Sonnenrad (sunwheel).
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