Eye on Extremism: June 1, 2026
Top Stories
Reuters: Iran halting indirect talks with US over Israel's Lebanon incursion, Tasnim says
Iran is halting indirect negotiations with the U.S. after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon to battle Tehran-backed Hezbollah, the Iranian news agency Tasnim said on Monday, complicating diplomatic efforts to end three months of war. Tasnim said the Islamic Republic's negotiating team was stopping exchanging messages with Washington through mediators over attacks on Lebanon, where the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran has reignited Israel's conflict with Hezbollah.
Jerusalem Post: Global Intifada publishes locations, maps of factories, ports for targeted sabotage
A new supply chain mapping project and campaign is seeking to disrupt and target factories, ports, and vessels that are ostensibly connected to the military infrastructure of the State of Israel, with the aim of disarming the IDF. Yet in addition to targeting Israel-tied facilities, unrelated Western defense firms are also in the crosshairs, and the campaign promotes not only picketing but also sabotage.
CEP Mentions
The Times: Inside the black op to irritate the New IRA into irrelevance
Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project based in New York and Berlin, said administrative disruption bypassed the sluggishness of traditional courts.
ZDFheute Nachrichten: Iran War: US and Iran close to a deal? Trump announces decision
Iran expert Hans-Jakob Schindler speaks on the situation concerning war against Iran.
ZDFheute: Is an Iran deal imminent? Positions still "far apart"
Iran expert Hans-Jakob Schindler told ZDFheute live that both sides were trying to "negotiate their maximum demands into a basic agreement." However, their positions were likely "far apart."
Analysis
Israel eliminated Hamas’ latest leader in Gaza, Mohammed Odeh, on May 26, just two weeks after the IDF had also killed his predecessor, Izz al-Din al-Haddad. As such, Hamas appears leaderless in Gaza.
United States
Fox News: Fourth US drug boat strike in a week kills more 'narco-terrorists'
The U.S. military conducted a deadly strike against a vessel in the Pacific on Saturday, killing several alleged "narco-terrorists," according to U.S. Southern Command. That attack, which killed three men, was one of four such military strikes announced by SOUTHCOM last week.
The U.S. Department of State is designating Comando Vermelho (CV) and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) and intends to designate both groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), effective June 5, 2026.
Journalist Charles Davis expressed shock on Sunday at the lack of media coverage on Gregory Bovino, the Trump administration’s ousted Border Patrol chief, having attended what he described as a “neo-fascist summit” in Europe, and just one day after promoting himself by making a “Hitlerian greeting.”
New York Times: A Candidate’s Past Ties to a Militant Cleric Are Surfacing in a N.J. House Race
Dr. Adam Hamawy, a New Jersey Democrat with big-name support on the left, has touted his humanitarian work, but some opponents want to talk about Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman.
A Columbia, Tennessee man is facing federal child sexual exploitation charges after an FBI investigation tied him to a violent extremist network known as "764." Zachary Sweeney, 30, was indicted on multiple counts Thursday in Nashville. Court documents show he has a long history of exploiting minors and connections to Nihilistic Violent Extremist, or NVE, groups.
KCTV 5: FBI: Violent extremists recruiting Kansas City children through online games
The FBI is warning parents about a violent extremist network actively recruiting children in the Kansas City area through online games and apps.
After allegedly stalking a couple in Santa Monica because they were wearing Star of David necklaces, threatening to kill them, and commanding his dog to bite one of them, a suspect was charged on Thursday – but not with a hate crime modifier, upsetting the victims’ advocates.
Canada
iPolitics: Carney heads to Toronto to announce plan to ‘combat antisemitism and hate’ across Canada
Amid a steady uptick in reports of violent attacks and attempted intimidation targeting Jewish community members and institutions, Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to go public with what his office is billing as the “next steps in the government’s effort to combat antisemitism and hate in Canada” during an afternoon appearance in Toronto.
CBC: Quebec politicians denounce white supremacists’ gathering in Shawinigan
Politicians in Quebec are condemning a photo that emerged on Facebook this weekend of more than a dozen masked individuals in Shawinigan, Que., holding up a large banner that said, in French: “I remember a white Quebec.”
Jerusalem Post: Second youth charged for shooting at Toronto area synagogues
A Waterloo teenager has been arrested for his role in the March shooting attacks on two Toronto-area synagogues, the Toronto Police Service and York Regional Police announced on Friday, almost a month after another youth was charged for the crimes.
Jerusalem Post: Jews were Winnipeg’s top hate crime target in 2025, police data shows
Winnipeg Jewish residents were the targets of almost a third of all hate-motivated crime in the Canadian city last year, according to data published by the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) on Wednesday, making them the most targeted demographic group.
Germany
Deutsche Welle: One injured after explosion at Cologne shisha bar
An explosion at the entrance to a shisha bar in the inner city of Cologne early on Sunday morning was deliberately caused, police believe. They said all guests had left the bar by the time the blast went off.
Deutsche Welle: Majority expects at least one far-right state premier after fall votes — survey
A majority of people in Germany expects a premier from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to take office in at least one of the three states holding elections this fall. According to the survey from the INSA polling institute conducted for the weekly Bild am Sonntag newspaper, 69% consider this a given.
Norway
Jerusalem Post: Norwegian Jews feel forced to hide identity, speak of ‘brutal’ alienation
A large number of Norwegian Jews feel forced to hide their Jewish identity, a new report by Norway’s Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies (HL-Center) has revealed.
Spain
Ynet: 'Wear the Star of David without fear' say Barcelona Jews after antisemitic sauna incident
Jewish communities in Spain are outraged after a video published over the weekend showed a Jewish American woman documenting how staff at a sauna in Barcelona prevented her from entering because she was wearing a Star of David necklace.
United Kingdom
The Times: Left-wing broadcasters Cenk Uygur and Hasan Piker banned from UK
Shabana Mahmood has banned two left-wing broadcasters from the UK due to fears they could fuel antisemitism. The home secretary has blocked Cenk Uygur, a Turkish-American political activist and broadcaster, from appearing at a conference in east London on Wednesday and at an event in Oxford on Friday.
The Times: Zack Polanski criticises ban on left-wing broadcasters over antisemitism fears
Zack Polanski has condemned Shabana Mahmood’s decision to ban two left-wing broadcasters from entering the UK over fears they could fuel antisemitism. Cenk Uygur, the host of the Young Turks, a left-wing populist YouTube channel, and his nephew, Hasan Piker, a streamer who previously said he would “vote for Hamas over Israel”, were scheduled to appear at the SXSW London festival this week.
BBC: Public urged to 'stay alert' ahead of summer of events
Counter terrorism police are urging people to "stay alert and help keep each other safe" ahead of a busy summer of events. The national terrorism threat level increased to "severe" in April for the first time in more than four years, meaning an attack is highly likely - and so Merseyside Police has launched its summer Project Servator campaign.
London Now: Deputy Mayor condemns Islamophobia at London rallies
London’s deputy mayor for communities and social justice Debbie Weekes-Bernard criticised the rhetoric from Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom march.
Russia
Moscow Times: Military Court Jails Altai Activist 5 Years for ‘Inciting Terrorism’
A judge in Siberia’s Novosibirsk region has sentenced an activist from the republic of Altai to five years in prison after she was found guilty of inciting terrorism, the exiled news outlet Mediazona reported Monday.
Middle East
A comprehensive new oversight report submitted to the U.S. Congress warns that the risk of an ISIS resurgence has intensified significantly across the Middle East, fueled by a volatile mixture of shifting political alliances, large-scale prison escapes, and a deteriorating security environment in both Syria and Iraq.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban Publish Law On Property Of Missing Persons
The Taliban’s Justice Ministry announced that a new law on the assessment of movable and immovable assets of absent persons has been published following approval by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Afghanistan International: Former Taliban Prisoner Rejects Group’s Denial of Torture Claims
Former Taliban prisoner Zarifa Yaqobi said she and her colleagues experienced various forms of torture and forced confessions in Taliban intelligence prisons, adding that she is still struggling with the psychological impact of her detention.
Following the signing of a military-technical cooperation agreement between Russia and the Taliban, the head of Russia’s trade centre in Afghanistan said companies from Tatarstan could repair and refurbish military equipment used by the Taliban.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Gaza mediators were set to renew disarmament talks with Hamas in Egypt on Thursday and were considering alternatives to US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, two Arab diplomats involved in the process told The Times of Israel.
Two teenage girls were injured, including one seriously, in a car-ramming terror attack in the West Bank on Sunday evening, with the attacker shot dead by IDF troops at the scene.
Times of Israel: In shift, Fatah opens leadership vote to terror convicts freed in hostage deals
A recent conference held to elect new figures to leadership roles within the Palestinian political party Fatah was also a showcase of the growing power and influence of ex-prisoners, including many serving life sentences who were released from Israeli jails under deals that freed hostages held by terror groups in Gaza.
Times of Israel: Hamas warns of ‘dangerous escalation’ after PM orders army to seize more Gaza land
Hamas has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a “dangerous escalation” after he ordered the army to seize more territory in the Gaza Strip, accusing Israel of violating the October 2025 ceasefire that halted two years of war.
JNS: IDF: Hamas terrorist posing as a doctor killed in targeted strike
Israeli forces on Saturday killed a Hamas terrorist who also worked as a hospital doctor in a targeted strike in central Gaza, the military said on Monday.
Times of Israel: Settlers attack Palestinians, vandalize property near Nablus; 8 reported injured
Seven Palestinians were hospitalized Saturday morning after settlers attacked them in the village of Madama, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said.
Iran
Iran International: Leaked documents link Chinese firms to IRGC missile fuel network
Iran International has obtained documents indicating that a Chinese company, working with firms in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, helped Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) acquire chemicals used in the production of ballistic missiles.
Iran International: Iran’s president offers resignation, citing total takeover by IRGC commanders
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has submitted an official letter of resignation to the Office of the Supreme Leader, a source familiar with the matter told Iran International. In the letter sent on Sunday, Pezeshkian stressed that the president and the government have effectively been excluded from major and vital decision-making processes in the country, and that the vacuum created by this situation has enabled hardline factions within the IRGC to take control of affairs, the source said.
AFP: Iran hangs two protesters for giving ‘pretext’ for US-Israeli attacks
Iran on Monday hanged two men convicted of ransacking and burning a mosque during anti-government protests that shook the country in December and January. Since war broke out with Israel and the United States in February, Iran has ramped up executions, with many of the convicts hanged over the earlier protests.
Iraq
Qatar News Agency: Three ISIS Operatives Arrested in Iraq
The Iraqi military intelligence personnel had successfully apprehended two ISIS operatives in Baghdad, the Military Intelligence Directorate said in a statement on Monday. The statement added that another operation led to the capture of an operative in Anbar Province in western Iraq. The Iraqi forces often declare the capture of ISIS operatives in a variety of operations conducted across the nation, particularly in the northern and western parts.
Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday morning ordered the IDF to return to heavy attacks on Hezbollah's Dahiyeh stronghold in Beirut.
Schools in towns and cities near the border with Lebanon were shuttered starting Sunday, as the IDF Home Front Command tightened its restrictions in light of intensified Hezbollah drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel over the weekend.
Lebanon
Staff-Sergeant Adam Tzarfati was killed in a Hezbollah drone explosion in southern Lebanon, the IDF announced on Monday. Tzarfati, 20, from Rosh Ha'ayin, served in the Maglan Unit of the Commando Brigade.
AFP: Hezbollah says still fighting Israeli troops near south Lebanon's Beaufort castle
Hezbollah said its fighters were still battling Israeli troops near south Lebanon's Beaufort castle on Monday, a day after Israel said it seized the strategic fortress and troops raised the Israeli flag there.
Naharnet: Aoun says negotiations may take time but are the only option
Negotiation with Israel is "safer than war, as we have witnessed and continue to witness the horrors and consequences of war," President Joseph Aoun said Monday. "However, it will not solve the problem instantly; it is a process that requires time, and we have no other option," he added.
Turkey
Reuters: Kanye West performs to 118,000 in Turkey despite bans elsewhere
U.S. rapper Kanye West, who has been barred from performing in several countries due to past antisemitic comments, drew more than 100,000 fans to a concert in Istanbul on Saturday night. West, also known as Ye, has faced a wave of cancellations across Europe this summer following years of antisemiticremarks, including statements praising Adolf Hitler and the release of content using Nazi imagery.
Australia
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has rejected the federal government's bid to keep cabinet documents about counterterrorism funding secret. The federal government had made a public interest immunity claim over the documents, which Attorney-General Michelle Rowland defended as standard procedure for matters related to cabinet.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: 13yo Queensland boy charged with violent extremist offences
Queensland Police say a 13-year-old boy charged with violent extremist offences posed an "imminent threat" to a local school. In a press conference on Monday, Acting Detective Superintendent Jason Hindmarsh said the boy from Queensland's Fraser Coast was "quite well advanced" in his planning.
The Times: I want nothing to do with terrorism, says Isis bride on trial
An Australian woman accused of travelling to Syria to join Islamic State has renounced the terrorist group and its ideology of violent jihad, her lawyer told a Melbourne court.
The Australian: Accused ISIS bride tried to recruit own kids into terror group, court told
Accused terrorist supporter and former so called ISIS bride Rayann El Houli has renounced the Islamic state and Jihad in court, as she makes a bid for her freedom. Ms El Houli was formally charged on Thursday by the federal police for allegedly entering and remaining in a declared conflict zone and joining a terrorist organisation.
Reuters: Australia's far-right party leads in national poll for first time
Australia's far-right populist party One Nation overtook the ruling Labor party in a national opinion poll for the first time, buoyed by voter discontent over the centre-left government's recent budget measures.
When 37-year-old father of three Heshy Adelist started his cleaning business around five years ago, he had carefully plotted how to make it profitable. Spending more than 1,000 pro bono hours scrubbing away antisemitic graffiti from walls, fences, schools and synagogues across Melbourne was not part of that plan.
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