Eye on Extremism: June 26, 2025
Top Stories
Reuters: Iran turns to internal crackdown in wake of 12-day war
Iranian authorities are pivoting from a ceasefire with Israel to intensify an internal security crackdown across the country with mass arrests, executions and military deployments, particularly in the restive Kurdish region, officials and activists said. Within days of Israel's airstrikes beginning on June 13, Iranian security forces started a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, the officials and activists said. Some in Israel and exiled opposition groups had hoped the military campaign, which targeted Revolutionary Guards and internal security forces as well as nuclear sites, would spark a mass uprising and the overthrow of the Islamic Republic. While Reuters has spoken to numerous Iranians angry at the government for policies they believed had led to the Israeli attack, there has been no sign yet of any significant protests against the authorities.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Thursday his country had delivered a “slap to America’s face” with its strike on an American base in Qatar, and warned against any further U.S. attacks in his first public comments since a ceasefire was declared with Israel after 12 days of war.
CEP Mentions
CEP´s Alexander RItzman highlighted that the core of the new youth neo-Nazi groups appears to radicalize offline, through interactions with friends, at sports events, during demonstrations, or within the family. Their hyper-visibility on TikTok or Instagram does not necessarily indicate that this is an online phenomenon. An online-focused prevention approach would therefore not be sufficient.
Cicero: “Iran is deliberately seeking access to potential terrorists in Europe”
Security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler warns: If the Iran-Israel conflict escalates, Germany also faces attacks and economic consequences. Terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas have also been underestimated for a long time.
The strength of Tehran-backed armed groups is dwindling. Hezbollah has retreated after Israeli strikes, and the deaths of figures like Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh are further weakening the network. "These groups are already doing everything they can ," warns Edmund Fitton-Brown, an advisor to the Counter Extremism Project. The Houthis , meanwhile, are surrounded, and Iraqi militias could act without coordination with Iran.
DW News: The setback and future of Iran's nuclear program remain uncertain after the US attacks
The director of the CIA has released a statement saying that Iran's nuclear program was indeed "severely damaged" by US strikes. This follows a leak of a Pentagon assessment suggesting the attacks may have set back the program by only a matter of months. On that, we talk with Hans-Jacob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project.
WELT: “Of course, attempts are being made quietly to rebuild the nuclear program.”
After the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, it remains unclear how severely the nuclear program has been damaged. International oversight is limited, and the regime is under pressure. "The Iranians are militarily naked," says Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler [Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Director].
Analysis
Fears of an “all-out” war with Iran have been greatly overstated, and they fail to account for the Islamic Republic’s overriding desire to avoid such an outcome and the diverse repertoire it has developed to prevent one.
Washington Institute: The Damascus Church Attack: Who Is Saraya Ansar al-Sunnah?
Although definitively identifying the group responsible for the bombing may take more time, authorities in Damascus and Washington already have more than enough information to beef up their security cooperation and reassure Syrian minorities that they won’t be targeted.
United States
US President Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that US and Iranian officials will hold talks next week, giving rise to cautious hope for longer-term peace, a day after a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold, even as Tehran insisted it will not give up its nuclear program. Trump, who negotiated the ceasefire that took hold Tuesday on the 12th day of fighting between Israel and Iran, told reporters at the NATO summit in The Hague that he wasn’t particularly interested in restarting negotiations with Iran, insisting that US strikes had destroyed its nuclear program.
New York Times: In New Assessment, C.I.A. Chief Says U.S. Strikes ‘Severely Damaged’ Iranian Program
Classified intelligence about the damage to Iran’s nuclear program from U.S. strikes was at the center of a political tempest on Wednesday as spy chiefs pushed out new assessments and President Trump continued to defend his assertion that Iran’s key facilities had been “obliterated.” The C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, said the strikes had “severely damaged” Iran’s nuclear program, and the administration suggested that the initial report, by the Defense Intelligence Agency, was based on preliminary assessments and was already outdated.
The Guardian: ‘Our era of violent populism’: the US has entered a new phase of political violence
“We are in a historically high period of American political violence,” Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, told the Guardian. “I call it our ‘era of violent populism’. It’s been about 50 years since we’ve seen something like this. And the situation is getting worse.” He said the US is in a years-long stretch of political violence that started around the time of Donald Trump’s first election, with perpetrators coming from both the right and the left. Pape directs the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, which studies terrorism and conflict. He noted in a recent piece in the New York Times that his research has found rising support among both left- and right-leaning Americans for the “use of force” to achieve political means.
New York Times: Mamdani’s Success Spotlights a Deepening Rupture Among U.S. Jews
New York’s annual parade celebrating Israel has been a standard stop for the state’s politicians for the last 60 years, drawing in governors, senators and every mayor since Robert F. Wagner to pay their respects to the Jewish community. Now, as Israel’s standing in the United States has fallen precipitously since the Gaza war, New York City Democrats appear likely to nominate a mayoral candidate who does not shy away from his record of anti-Israel activism, underlining an extraordinary departure from past mayors and from current Democratic leadership in Washington.
The United States and Iran plan to hold talks next week, President Trump said Wednesday, just days after the United States bombed three of Iran’s key nuclear facilities and Israel and Iran agreed to a cease-fire. It is unclear what form the discussions will take, who will participate and what the exact scope will be. Mr. Trump did not provide any additional details, and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Forward: Why claims of antisemitism didn’t stop Zohran Mamdani
If the specter of antisemitism loomed over Tuesday’s mayoral primary in New York City, Zohran Mamdani’s resounding victory in what many expected to be a closer contest suggested the line of attack — based mostly on Mamdani’s criticism of Israel and opposition to Zionism — ultimately fell flat. Observers of the race attributed failure of antisemitism allegations to sink Mamdani’s campaign to a variety of factors, from his disciplined focus on affordability in a city where the cost of living is skyrocketing, to his Jewish outreach and co-endorsement of Comptroller Brad Lander, one of the most prominent Jewish elected officials in New York who was also running for mayor.
Seattle Times: Lawsuit alleges antisemitic bullying at Seattle’s Nathan Hale High
A former Nathan Hale High School student’s parents are suing Seattle Public Schools on behalf of their daughter, alleging the district failed to protect her from months of antisemitic harassment following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and retaliatory strikes on Gaza. The lawsuit filed this month in King County Superior Court includes photos of swastikas drawn around campus and accounts of students telling her “Hitler’s plan should have worked,” “I hate Jews” and to kill herself for being Jewish, and calling her racist and Islamophobic.
Bloomberg: MIT Sued by Student, Instructor Claiming Campus Antisemitism
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology was sued by an instructor and a former student who claim the school’s administration failed to address a “hostile anti-Semitic environment” on campus following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel by Hamas.
A myriad of Jewish figures and groups have reacted with horror after “Globalize the intifada” supporter Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primaries for New York City mayor on Tuesday. The potential impact of a Mamdani mayoral stint on Jewish safety was one of the main concerns expressed to The Jerusalem Post. Additionally, several expressed fear that Mamdani’s vehemently left-wing, pro-Palestinian, and anti-Israel stance would lead to the proliferation and normalization of antisemitism in the city.
The 19-year-old counter-protester arrested at Nashville’s No Kings Rally on June 14 was flagged two months earlier by a federal terrorism task force after posting an image on social media of a shotgun inscribed with “names of mass shooters and Neo-Nazi symbology,” according to Murfreesboro police. Elijah Millar, of Murfreesboro, was arrested by Nashville police at the rally and charged with disorderly conduct after witnesses reported he brandished a handgun. Police seized a pistol from Millar at the scene.
My San Antonio: 'Ginger ISIS member' Roblox terrorist plans thwarted by FBI in Texas
A young Texas man is behind bars without bail after reportedly using an online gaming platform – popular among iPad kids across the country – to plan a terrorist attack at a Christian concert, according to federal court records in Texas. The news broke last week when Court Watch reported a self-proclaimed “ginger ISIS member” was arrested back in May by federal agents.
UPI: Colorado terror attack suspect charged with 12 hate crime counts
The 45-year-old man accused of using a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to burn people demonstrating in support of Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colo., has been charged with 12 counts of hate crime, according to the Justice Department on Wednesday. Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, earlier was charged with a single hate crime count for the June 1 attack on Run for Their Lives during a pro-Israel demonstration at Port Street Mall, DOJ said. He also faces 118 charges in state court, including attempted murder.
Venezuela
BBC: Venezuela's ex-spy chief pleads guilty to narco-terrorism charges
Venezuela's former head of military intelligence, Hugo Carvajal - also known as "El Pollo", or The Chicken - has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges in the US. US officials accused the 65-year-old of forming part of a drug-smuggling organisation made up of high-ranking members of the Venezuelan military.
France
Algemeiner: Jewish Teen Threatened at Knifepoint in France Amid Surge in Antisemitic Attacks
A Jewish teenager was threatened at knifepoint and called a “dirty Jew” in an antisemitic attack in France — the latest in a growing wave of hate crimes targeting the country’s Jewish community. Last week, a 15-year-old boy was violently attacked in Colomiers, southwestern France, after attending a meetup arranged with a girl over social media, French media reported.
RFI: France's Le Pen asks Bardella to prepare for 2027 presidential bid
Le Pen, the longtime standard bearer of the French far right, suffered a stunning blow in March when a French court convicted her and other party officials over an EU parliament fake jobs scam. "I have accepted the possibility that I may be unable to run. Jordan has accepted the possibility that he may have to take up the torch," Le Pen told French weekly Valeurs Actuelles.
Germany
ARD: New arrest warrant after knife attack in Bielefeld
In the case of the suspected attack outside a bar in Bielefeld, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has obtained a new arrest warrant for the Syrian suspect. Mahmoud M. is accused of membership of a foreign terrorist organization, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm, the federal prosecutor's office in Karlsruhe announced, adding that according to recent findings, the suspect may have been in contact with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia before the attack. M. is said to have joined IS in Syria in December 2014 at the latest. He is said to have worked for the organization as a guard and border guard until spring 2016.
ARD: Banned neo-Nazi group: "Combat 18" cadre on trial
They are alleged to have continued the militant neo-Nazi group "Combat 18 Deutschland" as ringleaders despite it being banned - four neo-Nazis are now on trial at Dortmund District Court. One of the group's alleged leaders is Stanley R. - an internationally well-connected neo-Nazi from Eisenach in Thuringia. In January 2020, the then Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (CSU) banned and disbanded the group "Combat 18 Deutschland". The founding of replacement organizations was also prohibited. However, the four accused allegedly did not comply with this. They are said to have continued underground before the police uncovered the network. According to information from NDR, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) monitored the network very closely before the ban. In June 2016, for example, the intelligence service discovered that membership fees were being transferred from the German "Combat 18" branch to other EU countries, including to the Hungarian "Blood and Honour" section.
Deutsche Welle: German court lifts ban on far-right Compact magazine
The decision by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig not to ban the magazine Compact was a difficult one, according to Judge Ingo Kraft. "However, the Basic Law guarantees freedom of opinion and freedom of the press even to the enemies of freedom, trusting in the power of free social debate," he said on Tuesday, June 24. The ruling is a defeat for former German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who banned Compact magazine in 2024. At the time, she justified the move saying the magazine is "a central mouthpiece for the right-wing extremist scene. This magazine incites against Jews, people with ethnic migrant backgrounds and against our parliamentary democracy in the most abhorrent way."
Sweden
Jerusalem Post: Sweden Democrats apologize for past Nazi links, antisemitism as election nears
The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats apologized on Thursday for the party's past Nazi links and antisemitism, part of efforts to present a more moderate, mainstream image to voters ahead of a national election next year. The Sweden Democrats were presenting the results of a specially commissioned study that found Nazi and antisemitic views to have been common at party functions and in its printed materials in the 1980s and 1990s.
United Kingdom
Jewish News Syndicate: Israeli minister: Jews should leave UK unless government changes
“British Jews should leave the U.K. unless the government changes, and the Labour Party is responsible for fueling antisemitism across the country,” Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism told the Daily Mail on Tuesday. “Without a dramatic change of course by Britain’s political leadership, I see no future for Jewish life in England,” he said.
The Telegraph: Neo-Nazi ‘targeted Sadiq Khan’
A neo-Nazi allegedly plotted a knife and crossbow attack targeting the Mayor of London, a court heard. Alfie Coleman was arrested by armed police in a Morrisons supermarket car park after he paid £3,500 for what he thought was a gun and ammunition to an undercover officer, the Old Bailey was told.
Afghanistan
Amu: Taliban say ties with Turkey upgraded to ambassadorial level
Taliban’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, said Wednesday their diplomatic relations with Turkey have turned “normal” and have been elevated to the ambassadorial level, calling the development a “significant achievement” for their foreign policy. Speaking at an event in Ankara, Muttaqi said they have appointed Saneullah Farahmand as their ambassador to Turkey.
Iran
New York Times: Supreme Leader’s Absence Raises Alarm in Iran
Mr. Khamenei, who has the final say on key decisions in Iran, has not been seen publicly or heard from in nearly a week, despite the extraordinary crisis that his country has faced. Through it all, Mr. Khamenei — who officials say has been sheltering at a bunker and refraining from electronic communication to prevent assassination attempts against him — has remained absent, issuing no public statements or recorded messages. His absence has surprised and unnerved everyone from political insiders to the general public.
Reuters: No known intelligence that Iran moved uranium, US defense chief says
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday said he was unaware of any intelligence suggesting Iran had moved any of its highly enriched uranium to shield it from U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear program over the weekend. "I'm not aware of any intelligence that I've reviewed that says things were not where they were supposed to be, moved or otherwise," Hegseth said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Wednesday confirmed the country’s nuclear facilities had been “badly damaged” in American strikes over the weekend, amid clashing evaluations on the extent of the success of operations against Tehran’s nuclear program. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Baghaei refused to go into detail but conceded the Sunday strikes by American B-2 bombers using bunker-buster bombs had been significant.
Israel
Jerusalem Post: Israel will be in Iran for years to come, Mossad head David Barnea says
Mossad Chief David Barnea on Wednesday issued a rare video excerpt to the public of an address to his Mossad agents involved in the sensational operations against Iran on June 13 and afterward, which brought the Islamic Republic to its knees. Almost tauntingly to Tehran, he told his Mossad agents, “We will [continue to] be there, like we have been there.” Barnea said that the spy agencies’ achievements against Iran were “unimaginable,” with public details indicating they were involved in assassinating top Iranian military chiefs and nuclear scientists and blowing up nuclear facilities, drone facilities, and ballistic missile facilities.
Reuters: Israel halts aid, official says, as Gazan clans deny Hamas is stealing it
Israel has halted aid supplies to Gaza for two days to prevent them being seized by Hamas, an official said on Thursday after images circulated of masked men on aid trucks whom clan leaders said were protecting aid, not diverting it to the militants. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Defense Minister Israel Katz, said late on Wednesday that he had ordered the military to present a plan within two days to prevent Hamas from taking control of aid.
Hours before she became one of the final victims of the 12-day Israel-Iran war on Tuesday, Naomi Shaanan was engaged in an activity that had made her famous in her city: She stood on the side of the road to demonstrate on behalf of the Israeli hostages in Gaza. In a photograph that circulated widely after she was killed when an Iranian missile struck her apartment building in Beersheba, Shaanan stood alone while clutching an umbrella against the winter rain and holding a sign in Hebrew that read, “And now — the hostages.”
Lebanon
AFP: Hezbollah's Raad says Iran 'regional deterrent force, like it or not'
Hundreds of people rallied outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut Wednesday, responding to a call from Hezbollah to celebrate "the culmination of the struggle and sacrifices" of the Iranian people "who triumphed over the Israeli-American aggression". Ahmed Mohebbi, 42, who was among the crowd, said: "We are very happy about this victory that Iran achieved, despite the hits it took and attacks by America and Israel to prevent it from continuing its nuclear program.
Jewish News Syndicate: Elite Hezbollah terrorist slain in Lebanon’s south
The Israeli Air Force killed an elite Hezbollah terrorist commander in southeastern Lebanon’s Nabatiye Governorate on Thursday. The airstrike in the village of Baraachit, located less than four miles from the border, killed a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, a unit of terrorists specialized in infiltrating Israel and capturing areas around the Jewish state’s northern frontier, the IDF said.
Syria
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa did not interfere in the Israeli operation in Iran for several reasons, most prominent of them is that the strikes benefited his newly formed regime, University of Haifa Professor Amatzia Baram argued in an interview with Maariv, published Thursday. When Israeli planes crossed Iranian skies for 12 days through Syria, Tehran closely monitored the operation, as did the office of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Syrian leader, in Damascus. According to Baram, the conclusions drawn by the Syrian leader could help stabilize our northern border for the years to come.
ANF News: SDF calls for transparent investigation into the attack on Mar Elias Church
The Press Center of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) released a statement refuting the claims made by the spokesperson for the Syrian Ministry of the Interior regarding the origin of the suicide bombers who carried out the attack on the Mar Elias Church in the Christian neighborhood of Al-Duwaila in Damascus. The attack on June 22 left a number of civilians dead and injured, and caused significant damage to the church.
Yemen
Yemen Online: Yemen's Houthis mobilize 82,000 volunteers for potential operations against Israel
The Houthi militia in Yemen has completed the first phase of military training for nearlu 82,000 volunteers, preparing them for possible involvement in operations against Israel. Fayez al-Hanami, the official spokesperson for the Houthi administration in Sana'a, revealed that these volunteers have finished the initial stage of training as part of a program dubbed "Al-Aqsa Storm," Sources reports, citing Iranian media.
Kenya
Reuters: Sixteen deaths recorded in Kenya protests, most killed by police, Amnesty Kenya says
Sixteen people died during nationwide anti-government protests in Kenya on Wednesday, most of them killed by police, the head of Amnesty Kenya said, a year after deadly demonstrations against a tax bill culminated in the storming of parliament. Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets to commemorate last year's demonstrations, in which more than 60 people died, with police firing tear gas and water cannons to disperse them in the capital Nairobi, according to local media and a Reuters witness. Some protesters clashed with police, and 16 people were "verified dead as of 8:30", Amnesty Kenya's executive director Irungu Houghton told Reuters, adding that the figures were verified by the global rights watchdog and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Tunisia
BBC: 'I don't know how I'm here': Survivors recall Tunisia terror attacks
On 25 June 2015, a gunman shot dead 38 people, including 30 Britons, in a Tunisian holiday resort. Seifeddine Rezgui, a Tunisian student, opened fire on tourists staying in Port El Kantaoui, just north of Sousse, in an attack for which the jihadist group Islamic State claimed responsibility. Rezgui was shot dead by police shortly afterwards but his actions shocked the world and changed lives for ever. Ten years on, survivors of the massacre have been recalling their horrific experiences and reflecting on how it changed their lives.
Australia
New York Times: Australian Court Says Journalist Critical of Israel Was Wrongfully Fired
An Australian court ruled on Wednesday that the country’s main public broadcaster had illegally fired a journalist for reasons that included a social media post critical of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. The journalist, Antoinette Lattouf, had sued the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, saying it had taken her off the air in December 2023 for expressing a political opinion. The ABC removed her after she made an Instagram post highlighting a Human Rights Watch report that accused Israel of “using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.”
Technology
An American neo-Nazi livestreamer and podcaster launched their own crypto currency in April 2025. Announcing their coin, the neo-Nazi criticized other cryptocurrencies as "rug pulls" intentionally orchestrated to "sully the crypto market's name while at the same time making millions of dollars while they do everything they can to rip off crypto currency investors, which is you, their supporters, their fanbase. This is really Jewish and it needs to be dealt with. … They're criminals, just like the Jews on Wall Street."
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