Eye on Extremism: March 12, 2026
Top Stories
Iran’s new supreme leader released his first statement since succeeding his late father, saying Thursday that Iran would keep up its attacks on its Gulf Arab neighbors and use the effective closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the United States and Israel.
ABC News: FBI warns Iran aspired to attack California with drones in retaliation for war: Alert
The FBI warned police departments in California in recent days that Iran could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones at the West Coast, according to an alert reviewed by ABC News.
CEP Mentions
Euro News: Iran war fuels further threats to Europe's Jewish communities, experts warn
Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project, warned of new radicalisation fuelled by the Iran war. "Both online and offline, we are seeing further radicalisation across the entire spectrum of violent Islamist extremism," he said.
WELT: The Iranian strategy that is putting Trump in a tight spot
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses Iranian hybrid warfare in the current war.
Analysis
Associated Press: Analysis: Iran war becomes a contest of who can take the most pain
The war with Iran, for all its complexity and global effects, boils down to a single question: Who can take the pain the longest? A surge in oil prices points to what may be Iran’s most effective weapon and the United States’ biggest vulnerability in continuing the campaign: damaging the world economy. A sharp rise in gas prices has rattled consumers and financial markets, and international travel and shipping have been severely disrupted.
Iran International: Power vs piety: Khamenei Jr inherits legitimacy dilemma of Iran's theocracy
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei inherits not merely his father’s office but also the constitutional ambiguities and political compromises that accompanied Ali Khamenei’s own controversial elevation nearly four decades earlier.
United States
Fox News: Trump says 'we've got our eyes on' Iranian sleeper cells in US
President Donald Trump hailed the swift prosecution of the military campaign against Iran, but acknowledged there are terrorist "sleeper cells" in the U.S. that have to be watched and dealt with. Trump said during a press gaggle Wednesday that he has been briefed on terror alerts and threats, including reported plans to conduct a drone attack in California, but he warned that any terrorists present in the country now might be the result of former President Joe Biden's "stupid open border."
A political commentator who argued that white people are the victims of racism and need help protecting their “identity” withdrew his candidacy Tuesday for a senior diplomatic role in the State Department as Republican opposition placed his nomination in jeopardy.
Fox News: Fireworks executive rips page from Boston bombing playbook to trace NYC terror suspect
When news broke in 2013 that bombs packed with fireworks powder had detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon and Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were being hunted, executives at Phantom Fireworks did not wait for a phone call. They searched their own records.
ABC 7: ISIS-inspired suspects considered other targets before Gracie Mansion protest: sources
The two Pennsylvania men charged with attempting to carry out, what authorities described as an ISIS-inspired attack in New York City, considered other targets before driving into Manhattan late Saturday morning with homemade bombs, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Dispatch logs obtained by Fox News Digital show that three calls to law enforcement were made from the home of one of the New York City terror suspects in suburban Philadelphia after the foiled attack. The first call to law enforcement came in at 4:15 p.m. Saturday from Ibrahim Kayumi's family home, the logs showed. The second came in at 9:19 p.m. A third call to law enforcement was placed on Sunday at 8:54 p.m. The calls were made to 911 or non-emergency lines, according to the log. It's unclear what was said on the calls or why they were made.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warns of threats of an Iranian-backed terror attack and elevated terror risk on ‘Hannity.’
Some pro-Israel conservative students are voicing concern over the College Republicans of America’s new political director, citing his ties to neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes as evidence of the party’s increasingly “alarming” shift toward extremism.
Nearly everybody called out Tucker Carlson at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s symposium on antisemitism. Attendees clapped when Sen. Ted Cruz called Carlson “the single-most dangerous demagogue in the country,” and speakers praised President Donald Trump for recently casting him aside as “not MAGA.”
The J.: Morton Klein Warns Mojtaba Khamenei’s Rise Signals Continued Iranian Regime Extremism
Morton A. Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America, says the rise of Mojtaba Khamenei within Iran’s ruling leadership demonstrates that the Islamic Republic remains firmly committed to radical Islamist ideology and hostility toward Israel and Western democracies.
WGAL: Carlisle town hall addresses white supremacist flyers
Residents in Carlisle attended a town hall meeting organized by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to address the recent distribution of white supremacist flyers in the community.
Canada
Over the weekend, two Toronto synagogues were attacked by gunfire. Several days earlier, another synagogue was hit by around twenty gunshots on the Jewish holiday of Purim. Though the three attacks caused no injuries, many in the Jewish community are demanding concrete action from Prime Minister Mark Carney — not just words of comfort that have typically followed such antisemitic incidents.
National Post: Iranian Canadians join Jews in condemning Al Quds Day anti-Israel protests
Canadian Jewish groups are calling on authorities to shut down Iran-backed Al-Quds Day protests in four cities this weekend, but the Jewish community isn’t the only one troubled by the show of support for the theocratic, fundamentalist regime.
In light of the three recent synagogue shootings in Toronto, the Canadian government has pledged $10 million to support Jewish communities in protecting themselves against hate crimes.
National Post: What are sleeper cells and why did Doug Ford suggest they are in Canada?
Ontario premier Doug Ford recently spoke about “sleeper cells” during a press conference about a series of shootings in Toronto targeting synagogues and the U.S. consulate. Ford stressed this was his personal opinion and not based on police intelligence. Yet, he insisted authorities need “to weed these people out and hold them accountable,” by throwing them in jail for life.
France
Reuters: France's far right taps into security fears in Marseille mayoral race
Security-focused campaign videos by the far-right National Rally candidate shaking up Marseille's mayoral race have helped die-hard supporter Marie-Helene Martin convince previously reticent relatives to vote for him, she said. To rousing music, Franck Allisio promises to triple the number of municipal cops, double the number of security cameras and put a police post in every district to "bring happiness back" to the people of Marseille.
Norway
Fox News: 3 brothers of Iraqi descent arrested in Oslo for allegedly 'terror bombing' of US Embassy
Three brothers have been arrested for the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Norway, an alleged attack in which no one was injured. The brothers were taken into custody in Oslo and are Norwegian citizens of Iraqi origin in their 20s, authorities said Wednesday, Reuters reported.
United Kingdom
Reuters: UK police to use River Thames to keep pro-Iranian rally apart from opponents
British police said on Thursday they would use the River Thames as a barrier to separate pro-Iranian protesters from counterdemonstrators in central London this weekend in what they said was a unique way of preventing possible violent clashes. The police, with the approval of interior minister Shabana Mahmood, announced earlier this week that Sunday's planned annual Al Quds march, organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, had been banned citing the tensions and risks created by the Iran war.
Far right extremist groups in Birmingham and the Black Country are targeting young children through racist video games and in online chat rooms as part of their 'biggest and boldest' recruitment drive, a BirminghamLive investigation has found.
Russia
CBC: Russia sentences 19 people for deadly concert hall attack that killed 149 people
A court in Moscow on Thursday convicted 19 people of involvement in the 2024 shooting rampage at a Moscow concert hall that killed 149 people and wounded over 600 in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years.
Bahrain
Yemen Online: Bahrain arrests 4 nationals for spying for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard
Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior announced Thursday the arrest of four Bahraini nationals accused of collaborating with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The ministry said the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Evidence apprehended four individuals and identified a fifth suspect currently abroad, for engaging in espionage activities with the IRGC through terrorist operatives based in Iran.
Iran
Reuters: Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says Strait of Hormuz should remain shut
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a tool of pressure. In a message read out by a state TV broadcaster, the first the new supreme leader has issued since he was appointed to succeed his slain father, Mojtaba said all U.S. bases in the region should be closed as they would be attacked.
Naharnet: Iran supreme leader thanks 'resistance front', Hezbollah
Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei thanked Tehran's allied armed groups across the region including in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen on Thursday.
Iran International: Desertions, shortages and army-IRGC rift strain Iran’s military
Iran’s armed forces are facing acute supply shortages, rising desertions and deepening friction between the regular army (Artesh) and the Revolutionary Guards, according to informed sources who described a military system under growing strain as the war intensifies.
Reuters: Bombing won't overthrow ruling clerics, Iran dissidents say
A senior official from a Paris-based Iranian opposition group said on Thursday that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran would not topple the clerical leadership, arguing that only a popular uprising backed by internal resistance could do so. Almost two weeks of bombing have killed around 2,000 people in Iran including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and damaged much of its military and security apparatus.
Caspian Post: IRGC Strikes US-Linked Oil Tanker in Persian Gulf – VIDEO
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that it struck the US-linked oil tanker Safesea Vishnu in the Persian Gulf, escalating tensions in the region.
Jerusalem Post: Israeli drone strikes kill security personnel, Basij militia members – report
Several Iranian regime security personnel and Basij militia members were killed in a series of Israeli drone strikes on Tehran, according to a report from Iran International citing Iranian state media on Wednesday.
Iraq
Kurdistan24: Air Defenses Intercept Four Drones Over Erbil Amid Wave of Nighttime Attacks
Air defense systems intercepted and shot down four drones over Erbil on Thursday, preventing them from reaching their targets in the Kurdistan Region’s capital, officials said.
Kurdistan24: Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq Warns Foreign Strikes Could Draw Iraq Into “New War”
The Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq movement on Thursday condemned a military strike targeting the headquarters of the 19th Brigade of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) in Akashat, a town near the Syrian border in western Iraq, describing it as a “treacherous” attack by U.S. and Israeli forces.
Israel
Lebanese terror group Hezbollah blasted some 200 rockets and 20 drones at northern Israel for hours on Wednesday evening, repeatedly sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis to shelters. Two people were lightly injured in northern Israel. A house was destroyed by a direct missile hit in Moshav Haniel, in central Israel. An elderly woman and her Filipino caregiver were in the safe room of the home, and emerged unscathed.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says tonight’s fire on Israel was a “joint and integrated operation” with Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group. In a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, the IRGC says that it launched several ballistic missiles, while Hezbollah launched drones and rockets at over 50 targets in Israel.
A man has been stabbed and seriously wounded in Ramat Gan, first responders say. Police are checking whether the incident is terror-related.
Lebanon
The Lebanese mother of two had just awakened to prepare the pre-dawn meal before another day of fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan when Israeli warplanes began attacking southern Lebanon in retaliation for rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah.
Times of Israel: IDF targets Hezbollah command centers, weapons sites in strikes on Beirut suburbs
Israel launched new waves of airstrikes in Lebanon overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday, striking Hezbollah targets while ramping up its troop presence in northern Israel, amid continuing rocket and drone attacks by the terror group.
Times of Israel: Joining Iran’s war, Hezbollah opens up a rift with its Lebanese Shiite base
In recent days, social media in Lebanon has been flooded with videos featuring unusually blunt criticism of Hezbollah following its decision to join Iran in fighting Israel. “God willing, Naim Qassem, may you not find shelter during the month of Ramadan. You are not a resistance movement — you are Iran’s arsenal in Lebanon,” a Lebanese Shiite man said in a video circulating in recent days, referring to the Shiite terror group’s leader.
Naharnet: 'One war too many': Lebanese angry with Hezbollah for attacking Israel
When an air strike hit their Beirut neighborhood, people were angry with Israel, but they reserved their deepest rage for Hezbollah, for dragging Lebanon into the Middle East war. Israel and the United States launched huge strikes on Iran on February 28, killing its supreme leader and sparking a massive retaliatory campaign. Iran-backed Hezbollah, already weakened by war, attacked Israel in support of its sponsors, pulling Lebanon into a new cycle of strikes, death and mass displacement.
Naharnet: Israel warns Lebanon to stop Hezbollah rockets or 'we will take territory'
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that he had ordered the military to prepare for expanding operations in Lebanon. "The Prime Minister and I have instructed the IDF to prepare for expanding IDF operations in Lebanon and for restoring quiet and security to the northern communities," Katz was quoted as saying in a statement.
Qatar
Yemen Online: Qatar announces interception of Iranian missiles and drones
Qatar announced on Wednesday that it had come under attack from Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. In a statement posted on its “X” account, the Qatari Ministry of Defense said: “The State of Qatar was attacked by nine ballistic missiles and several drones from Iran on Wednesday.
Pakistan
Afghanistan International: Military Operations Against Taliban Continue, Says Pakistan
Pakistan’s state radio says the country’s military destroyed several Taliban posts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border during its ongoing operation “Ghazab-ul-Haq”. Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday, March 12, that Pakistan’s army targeted and destroyed several Afghan Taliban positions along the frontier.
Burkina Faso
Defense Post: Al-Qaeda Linked Jihadists Killed 38 Civilians in Burkina in a Month: HRW
Jihadists allied to Al-Qaeda killed at least 38 civilians and kidnapped nine women in Burkina Faso in less than a month, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday. The Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, known by its Arabic acronym JNIM, is among the most powerful of the radical Islamist militias that have ravaged the Sahel region of West Africa for more than a decade.
Mali
North Africa Post: Mali: U.S. Set to Resume Intelligence Operations against Jihadists
The United States is believed close to reaching an agreement with Mali that would allow American aircraft and drones to resume intelligence operations against jihadist groups operating in the Sahel country. According to press reports, the move shows plans to return to the Sahel region after years of disengagement, leaving Russia, China and Turkey to step in and expand their influence.
Australia
The Australian Jewish community has been left in the lurch following its relentless fight to have the Albanese government establish a Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach terror attack. It comes after former spy chief Dennis Richardson quit the national inquiry, despite Mr Albanese describing him as the “most qualified person” to investigate intelligence issues.
The retired judge heading the royal commission into antisemitism and the Bondi beach massacre warned the government that rules blocking access to sensitive secret information were “impeding” the work of her team, in particular the preparation of an interim report on security and intelligence failures due at the end of April.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has declined to consider changes to criminalise support for a terrorist leader after those who mourned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei escaped legal consequences. Five of Australia’s 80 Shi’ah mosques organised memorial events for Khamenei, the slain leader of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which Australia has designated a terrorist organisation.
A Perth man accused of planning a “mass casualty” terror attack targeting public buildings and mosques was at one point able to buy guns due to a property letter from an outback station that had the sign-off under a now-closed loophole in WA’s old gun laws.
Technology
When online users confront AI models with hostile or extreme accusations, including calling the model a “terrorist” or claiming it is engaged in acts of harm against humans, the system responds with structured denials. These resemble emotional defensiveness, even though the AI does not experience feelings. This type of interaction has created a recurring misunderstanding. What looks like psychological resistance is claimed by the AI to be a mandated safety process.
Bureau of Investigative Journalism: Meet the AI rapper funded by a far-right party
At first glance, he looks like a rising rapper courting controversy. Except Danny Bones is not real. He is an AI-generated persona – the front for an anonymous influencer “collective” called the Node Project. We can reveal that some of its Danny Bones content was repurposed for the recent Gorton and Denton byelection campaign by the far-right party Advance UK, which paid the Node Project to produce its main campaign video.
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