Eye on Extremism: March 17, 2026
Top Stories
Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani was killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike in Iran overnight, the IDF and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed on Tuesday afternoon. Israeli confirmation of the assassination came after three separate sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post he was targeted in what is the single most momentous targeted killing following the death of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran's new supreme leader has rejected de-escalation proposals conveyed to Tehran by intermediaries, demanding Israel and the United States first be "brought to their knees", a senior Iranian official said on Tuesday. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had held his first foreign policy session since being named supreme leader, and had taken a stance for revenge against the U.S. and Israel that was “very tough and serious”, the official said, without clarifying whether the leader attended in person or remotely.
CEP Mentions
AP7AM.com: ISIS calls for attacks on Hindus in India, South Asia: Report
Extremist networks linked to ISIS have called for attacks against Hindus in India and across South and Southeast Asia, even as they praised recent violence in the United States and expanded online recruitment, according to a new report by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP).
Tagesschau: Sabotage on behalf of Russia?
The investigation points to a pattern that investigators observe among so-called Russian “disposable agents.” According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, these agents often work “on behalf of a foreign intelligence service without actually belonging to it” in exchange for small sums of money. Unlike full-time employees, they are expendable, and the risk of their cover being blown is accepted. “Once the operation is complete or someone is arrested, they are literally discarded,” says terrorism and security expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the international think tank Counter Extremism Project.
ZDFheute: Russian Sabotage? Suspected Agents on Trial
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed at 01:02 regarding the court case against Russian agents in Germany.
Statecraft & Strategy: Europe’s Changing Counterterrorism Challenge
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler writes: “Today, Europe is facing a resurgent and increasingly complex terrorism threat. Between 2022 and 2024, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL) reports that 206 terror attacks—both foiled and successful—were recorded on the continent, and 1255 individuals were arrested on terrorist-related charges.[1] Put another way, Europe as a whole is experiencing more than one terror attack per week, on average; slightly less than six per month. Moreover, those statistics are assuredly incomplete, since EUROPOL only collates data that is forwarded by its member states.”
Analysis
Israel started the Iran war big by assassinating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief, the Iranian military chief, and the Iranian defense minister all on February 28.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah has been watching how Israel’s new offensive will play out. The Iranian-backed groups chose to enter the war on the side of Iran on March 2. Since then, it has been subjected to airstrikes, and Israel has launched a, so far, limited ground operation into Lebanon.
New York Times: Israel’s Killing of Ali Larijani Could Allow Military to Tighten Grip on Iran
Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, had a reputation of being able to bridge the country’s hard-line military elements and more moderate political factions. His killing in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday could open the way for the military to tighten its grip over the ruling system.
Iraq suffered its worst night of the Iran conflict on Sunday evening, amid the Iranian decision to make Iraq a frontline of the current war since the US and Israel began to strike on February 28. The Islamic Republic initially began to operationalize militias in Iraq to attack Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan region and also to target US forces and US facilities. Now, the militias and Tehran have escalated, attacking a key hotel in Baghdad and carrying out dozens of attacks across Iraq.
Washington Examiner: Three dangerous myths about Iraq’s popular mobilization forces
In Washington, D.C., policy circles, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces are often described as a legitimate national force that emerged in 2014 to fight the Islamic State. Many policymakers view the PMF as a formal component of Iraq’s security apparatus, an institution that gained legitimacy through religious authority, parliamentary legislation, and its role in defeating ISIS.
United States
Reuters: US National Counterterrorism Center director resigns over war in Iran
The head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned on Tuesday, becoming the first and most senior member of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to resign over the war in Iran, saying Tehran posed no imminent threat to the United States. "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful lobby," Joseph Kent wrote in a letter to Trump posted on X.
President Donald Trump's administration on Monday urged U.S. diplomats abroad to push allies to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Lebanon-based Hezbollah as terrorist groups, citing elevated risk of attack, according to an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters. The directive, dated March 16 and signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was sent to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts worldwide. It asks U.S. diplomats to deliver the message to their counterparts "at the highest appropriate level" and no later than March 20, adding that the advocacy efforts to get these groups blacklisted should be coordinated with Israeli counterparts.
Reuters: Trump was warned of likely Iranian retaliation on Gulf allies, sources say
President Donald Trump was warned that attacking Iran could trigger retaliation against U.S. Gulf allies despite his claims on Monday that Tehran's reaction came as a surprise, said a U.S. official and two sources familiar with U.S. intelligence reports. Pre-war intelligence assessments did not say that Iran’s response was "a guarantee, but it certainly was on the list of potential outcomes," said one source, who like the other two requested anonymity to discuss the issue.
Washington Post: DHS silent on threat status amid war in Iran, spate of violent acts
The global fallout from the United States’ escalating war against Iran — along with acts of violence this month at a Michigan synagogue, a Virginia university and a Texas bar — prompted warnings from national security experts about the potential for rising threats to the country. But the Department of Homeland Security, the sprawling federal agency charged with helping keep the nation safe, has not provided the public with its own assessment of the dangers facing the United States.
Michigan Public NPR: Michigan lawmakers call for more action against antisemitism, extremism
Jewish state officials in Michigan called Monday for legislative changes to prevent crimes motivated by antisemitism, following an attack at a metro-Detroit synagogue last week. An armed man drove a truck laden with commercial-grade fireworks into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, investigators said, in what the FBI described as a targeted attack on the Jewish community. Federal officials said he died by suicide at the scene.
Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) said he plans to introduce legislation to strip citizenship from naturalized citizens who commit acts of terrorism.
A Jared Taylor speaking engagement scheduled March 9 at Salisbury University has not been rescheduled after the school postponed the event last week, citing safety concerns after hundreds raised objections on social media. Salisbury University, the Maryland GOP and civil rights leaders all condemned Taylor as an extremist, while the event organizer said hosting the speaker was a matter of free speech.
Canada
CBC: Halifax Jewish community facing rising anxiety after wave of global antisemitic attacks
Synagogues in Toronto have been shot at and a synagogue in the Detroit area was attacked just blocks away from where his grandchildren attend school. In Halifax, a bit farther up Oxford Street, Rabbi Gary Karlin of Shaar Shalom Congregation says the anxiety he's hearing from his members goes beyond physical safety.
Canadian Defence Review: Canada introduces new tools for law enforcement to keep Canadians safe
From street crime to national security threats, criminal activity is increasingly being enabled by digital, globalized, and sophisticated crime networks. To keep Canadians safe, Canada’s new government is strengthening the Criminal Code and giving law enforcement and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) the tools they need to disrupt crime, investigate serious threats, and protect our communities.
Canada’s National Observer: Canada's white supremacists target gyms to 'indoctrinate' new followers
Rachel Gilmore was listening to her musician boyfriend perform in a Montreal backroom bar earlier this month when two men in black — "the Nazis" — showed up, blocked the exit and stared her down. Gilmore knew what was happening immediately. It wasn't good.
Albania
Balkan Insight: Albanian MPs Adopt Resolution Declaring Iran ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’
In a vote backed by ruling Socialist Party MPs, Albania’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a resolution declaring Iran a ‘state sponsor of terrorism’ – a move aimed at signalling support for the Trump administration’s war. Speaker Niko Peleshi called the plenary session on Tuesday, outside parliament’s normal calendar, to vote on the resolution, which opposition Democratic Party MPs boycotted, deeming the procedure “illegal”.
France
France’s far right has made gains in the first round of municipal elections in the southeast, while control of most major cities, including Paris, remains undecided ahead of the upcoming runoff. The vote is widely seen as a test before next year’s presidential election.
Reuters: Mayoral races heat up in Paris, Marseille, ahead of run-offs
Crucial races to win control of France's two biggest cities heated up on Tuesday with some candidates pulling out as parties deal with a shifting, fragmented political landscape ahead of next year's presidential election. The hard-left candidate in Marseille's mayoral race, Sebastien Delogu of France Unbowed (LFI), withdrew from Sunday's second round out of concern that splitting the left's vote could help the far-right National Rally take control of France's second-largest city.
Politico: French far right struggles to deliver decisive breakthrough
The far-right National Rally had reason to hope this month’s French municipal elections would show it now has an unstoppable momentum before the presidential race in 2027. After all, the party has been on a steady upward trajectory during this election cycle, with polls showing Jordan Bardella, the party’s president, as the frontrunner ahead of next year’s campaign.
Netherlands
Jerusalem Post: Explosion near Amsterdam WTC linked to emerging group Ashab al-Yamin
The newly formed terror group Ashab al-Yamin carried out an improvised explosive device (IED) attack outside an American bank near the World Trade Center in Amsterdam on Sunday. A spokesperson for Amsterdam Police confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Monday that an explosion occurred at the entrance of an office on Strawinskylaan Street, the location of the WTC, and one of the entrances to the Atrium. They did not confirm the exact target.
United Kingdom
BBC: MI5 to pay compensation to woman abused by neo-Nazi agent
MI5 will pay compensation and has apologised to a woman who was coercively controlled and attacked with a machete by one of its agents. Her legal claim followed a BBC investigation four years ago, which showed that the man, known publicly as Agent X, was a neo-Nazi misogynist who used his security service role as a tool of abuse.
Afghanistan
New York Times: Afghan Officials Say Hundreds Dead in Pakistani Airstrike on Kabul
At least 400 people were killed and 250 others injured on Monday night after a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul, Afghan officials said, in the deadliest attack of the three-month conflict between the two neighbors.
Findings by Afghanistan International indicate that the site targeted in Pakistan’s airstrike in eastern Kabul on Monday night was a former NATO base where a drug rehabilitation centre had been established about 10 years ago. Evidence suggests that for around three years, the Taliban had been using the facility to manufacture suicide drones.
Egypt
Middle East Monitor: Egypt permanently designates senior Muslim Brotherhood figures as terrorists
Egypt has formally designated several senior figures from the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists on a “permanent and definitive” basis, following final court rulings, authorities announced. The Office for Regulating Terrorist Entities and Terrorists said the decision applies to Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Mahmoud Ezzat Ibrahim and Moaz Mansour El-Sharkawy, among others, in line with Egypt’s Terrorist Entities Law.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: Extremist settler found guilty of terror charges in killing of Palestinian mother
More details have been published on yesterday’s conviction of a Jewish terrorist in the 2018 stone-throwing attack that killed Palestinian Aisha Rabi. Rabi, a Palestinian mother of eight, was killed when the rock he threw struck her in the head as she was driving.
Times of Israel: Soldiers attacked by extremist settlers in the southern West Bank, one lightly hurt
An IDF soldier was lightly hurt after being attacked by extremist settlers in the southern West Bank earlier today. The military says that “Israeli civilians” threw stones at soldiers operating near the settlement of Kiryat Arba, close to Hebron, injuring one.
Iran
New York Times: Intrigue, Power Plays and Rivalries: Inside the Rise of Mojtaba Khamenei
Mojtaba Khamenei’s ascension as Iran’s new supreme leader might have appeared straightforward, even predestined. In fact, it was neither. His rise came only after a full-on war of succession. The high-stakes process became the Islamic Republic’s version of “Game of Thrones”: an empty throne; a council of clerics; and two dynasties — Khamenei and Khomeini — competing. Political figures vied, military commanders defended their realms, and a former spy master known for plotting assassinations weighed in.
Iran International: Prince Pahlavi says Larijani, Soleimani faced justice, urges forces to defect
Prince Reza Pahlavi said on Tuesday that senior Iranian figures including Ali Larijani and Basij commander Gholamreza Soleimani had “faced justice,” after Israel confirmed it had killed them in airstrikes.
Iran International: 300 IRGC Basij field agents killed in overnight strikes
Around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of overnight strikes on key command and operational centers of Iran’s Basij forces, Iran International has learned. Around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of overnight strikes on key command and operational centers of Iran’s Basij forces, Iran International has learned.
Iraq
Asharq al-Awsat: Iraq Warns Drone Strikes Could Trigger al-Qaeda Prison Break
Iraq’s Ministry of Justice warned Sunday that repeated drone attacks near Baghdad International Airport pose a danger to a nearby prison holding high-risk al-Qaeda inmates. In a statement, the ministry said areas around the airport and Airport Prison - also known as Karkh Central Prison near Abu Ghraib - have been struck several times in recent days. The most serious attack occurred late Saturday, when projectiles landed close to the facility.
Kurdistan24: Zebari Says Iraqi Militias Seek to Expand Regional Conflict Into Iraq
Former Iraqi Foreign Minister and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) politburo member Hoshyar Zebari stated on Monday, that attacks on the Al-Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad, the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone, the U.S. Diplomatic Support Center at Baghdad International Airport, and targets in Erbil signal the start of an all-out war by Iraqi militias.
Israel
Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah planning larger-than-standard overnight rocket attack, IDF warns
Hezbollah is planning a larger-than-standard overnight rocket attack, the IDF said Tuesday afternoon. The IDF took the unusual measure of pre-warning the home front after the incident last Wednesday, in which the military had prior intelligence of a potential increased Hezbollah attack, but it did not pre-warn the home front, or not far enough in advance to take special precautions.
The IDF hit external targets tied to Palestinian-linked activity and killed senior figures involved in terror activity from Gaza and the West Bank hiding in Tehran during overnight operations, the military announced on Tuesday.
Kurdistan24: Israel Targets Top Palestinian Islamic Jihad Commander in Iran
Israel says it struck Akram al-Ajouri, head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s military wing, in Iran. The commander, linked to Gaza operations and Iran, was targeted but his fate remains unconfirmed, Israeli officials reported.
Times of Israel: IDF pushes deeper into south Lebanon as Hezbollah keeps up fire at northern Israel
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it has pushed even more forces deeper into southern Lebanon to create an expanded buffer zone, as Hezbollah attacked towns in northern Israel with rockets and drones. The buffer zone was established after the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group began attacking Israel earlier this month, shortly after the US and Israel launched strikes on the Iranian regime.
AFP: Herzog: Europe should back effort to ‘eradicate’ Hezbollah, Iran war a ‘historical juncture’
President Isaac Herzog told AFP Monday that Europe should back Israel’s fight against Hezbollah, as Israeli forces carried out ground operations in Lebanon. In an exclusive interview at his Jerusalem residence, the Israeli head of state also said the US-Israeli war with Iran marked a “historical juncture.”
Israel Police arrested two individuals on suspicion of online incitement against the State of Israel and for support of the Iranian regime on Saturday. In coordination with Border Patrol officers in the West Bank, the police carried out two arrests after Israel’s Central Command began monitoring suspicious social media activity on the accounts of the suspects.
Kuwait
Naharnet: Hezbollah denies any members in Kuwait after arrest of 16 alleged affiliates
Hezbollah on Tuesday denied it had any members in Kuwait a day after the Gulf country announced the arrest of 14 Kuwaitis and two Lebanese nationals allegedly affiliated with the group over a "sabotage plot". "Hezbollah categorically denies the allegations and accusations issued by the Kuwaiti interior ministry," the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group said in a statement, calling the allegations "baseless" and adding: "There are no Hezbollah cells, members or networks in Kuwait."
Lebanon
Naharnet: Lebanon has proposed direct talks with Israel but Hezbollah says talks 'big mistake'
With airstrikes rocking Beirut and Israeli troops trying to advance against Hezbollah, Lebanon's government has broken a taboo by proposing the first direct talks with Israel in decades. But Lebanese officials say they want the fighting to end first — and it might be too late for that. Hezbollah's decision to enter the wider Iran war by firing rockets at Israel has led to the heavy Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs, killing some 850 Lebanese and driving over a million people from their homes.
Naharnet: Judiciary expected to seek Qmati's arrest over coup remarks
The Lebanese judiciary is expected to seek the arrest of Hezbollah official Mahmoud Qmati, after he threatened that his group can overthrow the government and take over the country, the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper reported on Tuesday. In an interview, Qmati has warned that his party is "capable of overthrowing the country and the government," adding that Hezbollah's "patience" has "limits."
Syria
Reuters: Syrian authorities ban alcohol in Damascus
Syrian authorities have banned alcohol from restaurants and bars in Damascus, one of the clearest moves yet by the Islamist-led government towards enforcing conservative ways since Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad 15 months ago. The decree, issued by the Damascus governorate on Monday evening, requires that nightclub and bar licences be converted into café licences and restricts the sale of alcohol to sealed bottles for takeaway and only in predominantly Christian areas.
Pakistan
Afghanistan International: Pakistan Turned Down China’s Call For Talks With Taliban, Says Sources
Informed sources told the Express Tribune that while Pakistan welcomes China’s efforts to reduce tensions, it has made clear it will continue its current policy of not engaging or holding talks with the Taliban regime. According to the sources, Pakistani officials told their Chinese counterparts that Islamabad had tried all diplomatic channels with the Taliban before the outbreak of the conflict.
Pakistan’s president has strongly condemned what he described as drone attacks on civilian areas and said the Afghan Taliban had crossed a “red line”. President Asif Ali Zardari wrote on X on Saturday that Pakistan would not tolerate the targeting of civilians and would defend its people.
Nigeria
Reuters: Suspected suicide bomb attacks kill at least 23 in Nigeria's Maiduguri
At least 23 people were killed and 108 injured on Monday night in suspected multiple suicide bomb attacks in Maiduguri city, the capital of Nigeria's insurgency-hit northeastern state of Borno, police and the military said. The attack in the heart of Maiduguri - the most fortified city in Borno, the seat of the state government, and the headquarters of Nigeria's military counter-insurgency operations - shows the extent of the threat that Islamist militants continue to pose in the region.
Reuters: Multiple blasts hit northeast Nigeria's Maiduguri city, state governor and residents say
Multiple blasts on Monday struck Maiduguri city, capital of Nigeria's insurgency-hit northeastern state of Borno, with several people feared killed, the state governor and residents said. Videos circulating online showed emergency responders at a Maiduguri hospital attending to injured people, some with torn and bloodied clothes. Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.
Australia
Reuters: Family of Bondi shooting accused Naveed Akram fear for their safety, court hears
The family of a man accused of killing 15 people at a Jewish festival on Sydney's Bondi Beach last year fear for their safety after a spate of alleged vigilante attacks, a court heard on Tuesday.
Naveed Akram, 24, is accused of opening fire on a Hanukkah celebration on December 14 in Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.
Technology
Rappler: ‘I will burn down my school’: Extremist indoctrination via Roblox manifests in PH – report
A video report on the GMA show Resibo, Sunday, March 15, showed how the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) caught a group of students who showed signs of “violent extremism.” One of the 7 students caught in the rescue operation was grade 6 student “Tony” (not his real name), who had reportedly made a post online that said “I will burn down my school.”
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