Eye on Extremism: June 25, 2026
Top Stories
Iran International: Iran’s support for proxies ‘has to be discussed’ in MoU talks, Rubio says
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that Iran’s support for non-state armed groups, including Hezbollah, Houthis and Hamas, would have to be discussed under the memorandum of understanding, arguing that such activity interfered in the sovereignty of regional countries.
Foreign policy experts are advising the Trump administration to continue to carefully watch Iran's behavior over its terror proxy Hezbollah — a group with American blood on its hands. The importance of Hezbollah to the Tehran regime is clear in the comprehensive U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding. While the agreement does not mention the group by name, clause one of the 14-point MOU calls for the permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including the cessation of conflict in Lebanon.
CEP Mentions
Deutsche Welle Auf den Punkt: Netanyahu vs. Trump: Is he betraying Israel for an Iran deal?
Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses the current negotiations between the USA and Iran and threats to Israel.
Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses the current negotiations between the USA and Iran and threats to Israel.
Analysis
Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Making the Best of Iraqi Militia “Disarmament”
Although claimed compromises by some of Iran’s proxies are unlikely to result in actual disarmament anytime soon, Washington can still erode Tehran’s illicit financial networks by carefully exploiting the militias’ desire to be treated as normal political actors.
United States
Fox News: FBI warns battlefield-style drone attacks could reach US: 'Only a matter of time'
It is "only a matter of time" before the type of drone attacks seen on battlefields overseas reach the United States, FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia warned in an interview with Fox News Digital — as investigators race to prepare for rapidly evolving technology that could eventually allow operators thousands of miles away to pilot aircraft targeting Americans.
Photos of two young women on a sunny Wisconsin hike picked up traction on the messaging platform Telegram in May. The photos, plain and anonymous, feature a woman in a white dress, her head cropped out of the photo and a girl in pink, heavily blurred, turning away from the camera to reveal a braid garnished with a delicate bow.
New York Times: M.I.T. ‘Embarrassed’ by New Book on Campus Antisemitism, Professor Says
After months of student protests related to the Gaza war in 2023 and 2024, some prominent schools, such as Harvard and Columbia, appointed select committees to interview students and write painful public reports about bias on campus.
Jewish Insider: Ousted Dan Goldman warns antisemitism will be ‘undoing of our democracy’
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), a pro-Israel Jewish Democrat who was unseated in a bitter primary on Tuesday, warned in his concession speech that antisemitism “will ultimately be the undoing of our democracy if we all don’t lean in and speak out.”
Fox News: Moderate Dems sound alarm on party's alleged antisemitism
Chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports as Democrats grapple with growing antisemitism and a socialist surge, exposing fault lines within the party. Moderate Democrats are raising concerns about growing antisemitism and a socialist surge within their party, highlighting internal divisions. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi avoid directly addressing questions about the party's leftward shift and increasing socialist influence.
A controversial mailer sent out by a Young Republican sparked a clash this week at a county party meeting between that activist and a veteran lawmaker over the direction of the GOP. That mailer, which invoked antisemitic tropes, led a conservative Republican lawmaker to reveal his own family’s history as he pleaded for the party to take a stand against that hate.
Fox News: Protesters gather outside coffee shop that banned Jewish congressman over Israel support
Israeli flags and accusations of antisemitism were flying outside a Brooklyn coffee shop on Wednesday morning as protesters slammed the café owners for banning a Jewish congressman over his pro-Israel beliefs.
WGAL: Delaware County woman accused of murdering parents linked to extremist cult
Michelle Zajko, a professed member of the extremist cult known as the Zizians, has been charged with murdering her parents, Richard and Rita Zajko, who were found dead in their Delaware County home on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
NJ.com: N.J. ‘Nazi concert’ canceled after backlash over bands’ white supremacy links
A heavy metal music festival scheduled for this weekend in Garfield was canceled after residents and anti-hate advocates raised concerns about several bands’ alleged connections to white supremacist and neo-Nazi ideology.
Canada
Global News: Online activity suggest conspiracies fed accused Montreal gunman’s ‘buffet extremism’
Online activity suggests accused Montreal shooter Seth Hatfield watched videos about weapons, the outdoors and a tangle of conspiracy theories and grievances. However, experts warn against drawing conclusions about the gunman. They also urge people to stop sharing online images of Monday’s shooting outside a Montreal hotel.
Europe
JNS: EU antisemitism czar warns against circumcision ban
At an emergency meeting on Wednesday about Belgium’s indictment of three Jewish circumcisers, the European Commission’s point person for fighting antisemitism warned that outlawing the custom would “ban” Jewish life.
Germany
Afghanistan International: Taliban Cooperation Serves National Interests, Says German Chancellor
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected criticism that Berlin’s engagement with the Taliban amounts to normalising relations with the group. He said any cooperation is limited to technical matters and serves Germany’s national interests.
Times of Israel: Leaders react after Berlin rabbi attack
After Rabbi Aviezer Kantor was allegedly followed, spat at and struck while walking home in Berlin with his 5-year-old son and a 14-year-old yeshiva guest, Jewish leaders and officials warned that visibly Jewish life is facing a heightened risk in everyday public life.
United Kingdom
Afghanistan International: Shouting From Afar Will Not Change The Taliban, Says British Politician
Former UK Defence Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood has called for engagement with the Taliban, warning that continued isolation of Afghanistan will only benefit groups such as Islamic State and expand China’s influence.
For survivors of terrorism, life is never the same again. Devastating injuries, severe mental health conditions and permanent disabilities are common. The nightmare of losing loved ones becomes a brutal reality.
Jewish News: BMA passes motion at conference attacking IHRA definition of antisemitism
The British Medical Association has endorsed a motion at its annual conference effectively rejecting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, claiming that it has had a “chilling effect on legitimate political speech and professional expression of ethical concerns about Israel’s actions in Palestine.”
JTA: Chair of Britain’s largest arts center to step down amid antisemitism scrutiny
The chair of the United Kingdom’s largest arts institution will step down this fall following months of controversy over allegations of antisemitism and his social media activity related to Israel. Misan Harriman, 48, the chair of the publicly funded Southbank Centre in central London that hosts millions of visitors per year, publicly stated earlier this week that he would not seek another term.
Middle East
Jerusalem Post: Marco Rubio in UAE warns Iran-backed militias in Iraq threaten regional stability
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the United Arab Emirates on June 23. During his visit, he made an important statement about the role of Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The statement was posted by the Department of State and other accounts linked to the US administration. By calling out Iraq, he is sending an important message. The United States wants Iraq to rein in the militias.
Reuters: Israel, Lebanon deny US claim that Israel has withdrawn from part of southern Lebanon
Senior Israeli and Lebanese officials denied on Thursday that there had been any Israeli withdrawal from occupied southern Lebanon, after a U.S. official said Israel had pulled some troops back in a good faith gesture toward Lebanon's government.
Afghanistan
Taliban Justice Minister Abdul Hakim Sharaei met security commanders from four security zones of Kabul after detaining Shia Muslims in his private prison, instructing them to maintain security, prevent disorder and enforce the orders of Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Iran
Iran International: Iran denies ban on 'death to America' chants, flag burning at rallies
The Islamic Republic’s judiciary denied reports that chanting slogans against the United States or burning the US flag at gatherings had been banned, calling the claim “fake” and “false.” The judiciary’s media center said no law or criminal provision exists banning such acts. It described the report as part of a media “psychological operation,” without giving further details.
Iran International: Guards chief says Israel must leave Lebanon or 'flee in defeat'
Iran’s Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said on Thursday that Israel must leave Lebanon or face a forced withdrawal in defeat. “You must leave all of Lebanon,” Qaani said in remarks carried by state media. “This land is a field of steadfastness and resistance, not a playground for occupiers.”
Iran International: IRGC personnel sheltered in Shiraz lodging complex were target of deadly strike
IRGC personnel sheltering in a civilian lodging complex in Shiraz were the likely target of a strike that also killed nine civilians at a neighboring emergency center in the early days of the 2026 war, an Iran International investigation found.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: IDF says it killed Hamas terrorist who took part in Oct. 7, planned future attacks
A Hamas terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7, 2023, onslaught was killed in an airstrike this week, the Israel Defense Forces announced on Wednesday. Akram Abu Madi, a member of Hamas’s military wing, recently acted to restore the terror group’s capabilities and advance attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians, the military said.
Times of Israel: As Strip stagnates, Gazans plan first large anti-Hamas protest since ceasefire
On June 18, several dozen people gathered outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, one of the Gaza Strip’s largest medical centers, to protest what they said was the lack of adequate treatment for the many wounded left by the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group, which rules the Strip.
Asharq al-Awsat: Hamas Seeks to Put Gaza on US-Iran Talks Agenda
At a time when a purported ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip faces continued Israeli breaches and violations, Hamas has moved toward Iran in a step that showed it was counting on a “supportive” position on Gaza by having the issue placed on the agenda of ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran.
Iran
IranWire: IRGC Warns Ships to Use Only Iran-Approved Hormuz Route
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy announced that the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz is only possible via routes designated and declared by the Islamic Republic of Iran, stating that any other route introduced without coordination with Tehran is considered invalid by Iran.
Israel must withdraw on its own from Lebanon’s entire territory or be “forced to flee in defeat,” the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force Esmaeil Qaani says, according to state media.
Israel
The IDF has postponed the demolition of several Hezbollah terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon amid the current ceasefire with the terror group, The Times of Israel has learned. A tunnel in the southern Lebanon village of Majdal Zoun, which reporters visited last week, has not yet been demolished.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Hezbollah says Israeli strike in Kfar Rumman killed civilians, not fighters
An Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed two people on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, with militant group Hezbollah calling it another "violation" of a truce between the two sides. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said that "two people were killed" when an Israeli drone targeted their vehicle near the town of Kfar Rumman. The Israeli military said it targeted "two armed Hezbollah terrorists in the area of Ali al-Taher Ridge" near the city of Nabatieh "who posed a threat", vowing that it will "continue to operate to remove immediate threats".
Naharnet: Fadlallah: Any concession won't be accepted, Hezbollah knows how to face Israel violations
MP Hassan Fadlallah, a member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, has pointed out that "there are Israeli violations of the ceasefire, and there are attacks and attempts by the enemy to evade the agreement to which it was bound by the Iranian-American memorandum of understanding, because it did not want to adhere to this agreement."
Syria
Stars and Stripes: US forces kill ISIS leader in Syria airstrike, CENTCOM says
A senior leader of the Islamic State group died as a result of an American airstrike in Syria last week, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The June 19 strike in northwestern Syria killed Ali Husayn al-’Ulaywi, according to a statement on X from Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
Yemen
Yemen Online: STC Condemns Terrorist Attack Targeting Al Arabiya Journalist in Mukalla
The Southern Transitional Council (STC) has strongly condemned the terrorist attack that targeted journalist Mohammed Al-Eidha, correspondent for Al Arabiya and Al Hadath channels, on Wednesday evening in the city of Mukalla, Hadramout province. Al-Eidha was injured when an improvised explosive device detonated against him.
Yemen Online: Houthi Leader Threatens Military Action as Yemen Gov‘t Raises Readiness
Yemen witnessed a sharp escalation in rhetoric and military mobilization over the past 24 hours, as Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned in a televised speech that his group is prepared to launch military action to end what he described as “siege, aggression, and occupation.
Nigeria
Voice of Nigeria: Human Rights Commission Seeks Stronger Collaboration Against Violent Extremism
The Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, Dr Tony Ojukwu, has called for stronger national collaboration to combat violent extremism, insecurity and human rights violations in Nigeria, urging stakeholders to address the root causes of conflict while empowering young people as agents of peace, development and social cohesion.
Singapore
A student who took photos of his phone showing Islamist extremist ideologies with Marina Bay Sands in the background was among two Singaporeans issued Internal Security Act (ISA) orders. Cyrus Dzulqarnain Al-Shahriar, 19, was issued a restriction order (RO), said the Internal Security Department (ISD) on June 24.
Australia
Australia is sleepwalking towards a surge in Islamic extremism, a prominent Muslim political analyst has warned, urging the nation to “wake up” before it is too late. Middle East strategic affairs expert Amjad Taha also said Australia must “stop tolerating people who do not tolerate you” and crack down on extremist networks instead of “giving them what they want”.
The Australian: Inside the alien online world radicalising Australian boys
Any parent knows raising teenagers has never been a walk in the park. But now, with an alien online world and its insidious social media algorithms preying on Aussie kids’ darkest insecurities and drawing boys as young as 13 towards violent extremism, worried parents are battling to keep pace.
A disabled elderly Jewish woman was allegedly subjected to a tirade of antisemitic abuse and filmed without her consent inside the Vodafone Elsternwick store in Melbourne earlier this week.
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