Eye on Extremism: March 25, 2026
Top Stories
Security analysts know little about the group, and aren’t able to confirm its authenticity. As of March 24, however, HAYI or those claiming to speak in its name has taken responsibility for attacks on the following: a synagogue in Rotterdam, Netherlands on March 13; a Jewish school in Amsterdam also on March 13; a series of fires on the Jewish ambulance service in London on March 22; a thwarted attack on a Chabad Hebrew school in Heemstede, Netherlands on Monday; and Monday’s car burning in Antwerp.
Law enforcement officials on Tuesday said they are taking steps to monitor and counter threats to Jewish and Muslim communities nationwide since the onset of war in the Middle East, multiple hate crimes and an attempted terror attack prompted increased security measures at places of worship and investigations into extremist activity.
CEP Mentions
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: VIDEO: 'Unique' radicalisation of German market attacker
Extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler says, while the perpetrator of the German Christmas market attack had been uniquely radicalised, they have been becoming more common since COVID-19.
Welt: "This could be the first sign of regime change."
Iran has rejected claims by US President Donald Trump about talks between the two countries. "This could be the first sign of regime change," says Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
Dr Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, emphasised that HAYI was unlikely to be a new terror group. Referring to their claims of attacks across Europe, Dr Schindler said: “Whether the perpetrators are connected, or whether it’s a framework the IRGC is giving them, is up for discussion.
ZDF: frontal vom 24. März 2026v
At 27:24, CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler speaks about the current situation in Iran.
Pioneer: The Power of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
Schindler is a senior director at the Counter Extremism Project
(CEP), a think tank based in Berlin and New York. He advises the Ministry of the Interior on the fight against Islamism. Regarding the maritime component of the shadow army, he says: “From coastal artillery to speedboats, they're all part of the Revolutionary Guards...”
Nau.ch: That's why Donald Trump wants to resume negotiations with Iran
For Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project, the situation is completely up in the air: “At the moment, many details are still unclear,” he says. According to the expert, it is “not professional to speculate” on whether these are genuine talks between the warring parties. Schindler considers three scenarios possible: Actual talks between Iran and the U.S. Indirect talks mediated by third-party countries in the region. Or: Simply a tactic by the U.S. administration to calm the markets and buy time.
Analysis
Jerusalem Post: Iran war has been winding down since mid-March after decline in bombing – analysis
The moment after US President Donald Trump on Monday said that there was a possibility of ending the Iran war by the end of this week, Israeli and American sources made sure to thump their chests about how robustly the war would continue absent a ceasefire.
Iran International: Zolghadr, the IRGC insider at the heart of Iran’s power structure
A foundational figure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr’s rise signals not a shift, but a moment of clarity — the same hardline system, now accelerating and more visible than ever. The longtime hardliner is the new chief of the Supreme National Security Council to replace his slain predecessor Ali Larijani, state television said Tuesday.
Small Wars Journal: Preventing ISIS’ Rising Resurgence After Syria’s Power Shift
This article outlines the present situation in Syria and Iraq, the emerging risks that could enable ISIS to rebuild, and recommendations for action: fortify the detention architecture, accelerate repatriations, and anchor these measures in a functional Kurdish autonomy arrangement in Syria, akin in logic to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).
United States
Reuters: TSA says 460 airport officers quit as standoff poses major security risks
The Homeland Security Department will tell Congress on Wednesday that a funding standoff that has forced 50,000 airport security officers to go without pay has caused delays at airports and is posing major security risks. Ha McNeill, the senior official at the Transportation Security Administration, will tell a U.S. House committee that 460 TSA officers have quit since the start of the current funding dispute after 1,110 quit during the 2025 shutdown.
For nearly two decades, the families of victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism have watched a 36-story Manhattan skyscraper generate millions in rental income for the Islamic Republic while their court judgments against Iran went unsatisfied. On Monday, amid the Israeli-American war against Iran, that wait finally produced a result: a $318 million settlement that will direct funds from the sale of the building to hundreds of victims, including Jewish and Israeli families who lost loved ones to Iran-backed terror attacks stretching from Jerusalem to New York.
The Hill: Trump goes for round 2 in court against Harvard, UCLA
The Trump administration is taking another swing at Harvard University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), filing antisemitism lawsuits and launching civil rights investigations against the schools after previous efforts to halt funding were thwarted in court.
Times of Israel: Man convicted of hate crime for attacking Israeli in New York after Oct. 7
An assailant was convicted on Monday of an antisemitic hate crime for attacking an Israeli man in New York City in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion of Israel. The case came as a series of antisemitic and Israel-related crimes dating to the upheaval in the city in 2023 and 2024 were resolved in New York City courts, and marked a relatively rare conviction for an antisemitic hate crime.
Daily Beast: White Supremacist Podcaster Says He Now Prefers Obama Over Trump
Nick Fuentes, one of the most prominent voices on the far right who has promoted white supremacy and Neo-Nazi beliefs, is seemingly looking back at the Barack Obama era through rose-colored glasses.
USA Today: Antisemitism allegations against Rams' Puka Nacua 'false and damaging,' lawyer says
Puka Nacua’s attorney acknowledged allegations made against the Los Angeles Rams wide receiver in legal filings but said in a statement that his client denies wrongdoing. A woman alleges Nacua made an antisemitic comment and bit her during a group outing on New Year’s Eve 2025. The allegations were first reported by TMZ on Tuesday.
Europe
APA: Morocco, Spain dismantle joint ISIS cell in coordinated raid
In a coordinated transcontinental operation, Moroccan and Spanish security forces successfully dismantled a three-member terrorist cell affiliated with ISIS on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. The joint mission involved Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) and Spain’s General Information Commissariat, marking another significant milestone in the security partnership between the two Mediterranean nations.
United Kingdom
Times of Israel: Two arrested over antisemitic arson attack on London Jewish community ambulances
British police said on Wednesday they had arrested two men over an arson attack on four ambulances belonging to a Jewish community organization in north London. The arrests came after police said they were investigating an online claim of responsibility by a little-known Islamist group that has possible links to Iran.
Russia
New York Times: An American in Russia Is Linked to Neo-Nazi Terror Cells Across Europe
Over the past 18 months, investigators across Europe have dismantled a string of neo-Nazi groups. Some were well organized and armed with guns and knives. Others appeared looser. In Britain, a teenager was arrested and charged with plotting an attack to start a race war. These seemingly unrelated cases shared a thread. In each, the authorities linked key figures to a far-right group known as the Base, which recruits online, largely through white supremacist memes and propaganda.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan International: Taliban Detains Two Polish Nationals In Afghanistan, Say Sources
Knowledgeable sources told Afghanistan International that the Taliban have recently detained two Polish nationals. The sources said the men had travelled to Afghanistan for business purposes.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Must End Hostage Diplomacy, Says US State Department
The US State Department, referring to the release of American hostage Dennis Coyle from Taliban custody, said President Donald Trump is committed to ending wrongful detentions abroad. It called on the Taliban to immediately free Mahmood Habibi, and other Americans.
Amu: Taliban say they are acting defensively in clashes with Pakistan
Responding to calls from clerics on a new ceasefire until the next Eid holiday in late May, Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the message is directed to Pakistan and that their forces are acting defensively in ongoing clashes with Pakistani forces. Mujahid said in an audio message broadcast by Taliban-run state broadcaster, RTA, that Taliban forces had not initiated the conflict.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Times of Israel: Board of Peace envoy lays out principles of disarmament plan presented to Hamas
The Board of Peace’s top Gaza envoy on Tuesday revealed the principles of the disarmament proposal submitted to Hamas earlier this month, urging the international community to pressure the Palestinian terror group to accept the offer in order to prevent another cycle of violence in the Gaza Strip.
Times of Israel: Death of ATV driver unleashes new outburst of settler attacks on Palestinians
Scattered among the debris in the charred living room of Samer al-Amar’s home on the edge of the village of Deir al-Hatab on Monday were books used to prepare for the Palestinian matriculation exam. On Sunday night, al-Amar’s daughter had been using the books to study for the upcoming tests. Then the settlers showed up.
Iraq
Reuters: Airstrike in western Anbar kills 7 Iraqi soldiers, wounds 13
Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded in an airstrike on a site belonging to Iraq's Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces near an army medical centre in western Anbar, security sources and the defence ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry said the strike, which took place at around 0900 local time, hit a military clinic and a nearby engineering unit. Rescue teams were still searching the site for possible additional casualties.
Israel
Times of Israel: Nine people wounded in Bnei Brak by Iranian cluster bomb munitions
An Iranian cluster bomb hit central Israel on Tuesday, with nine people wounded by multiple impacts in Bnei Brak, according to first responders. The attack came as the Israel Defense Forces said it struck a key Iranian explosives production facility in the area of Isfahan, and Iran accused the US and Israel of bombing its Bushehr nuclear site.
Times of Israel: 4 people lightly hurt, buildings mangled as Iranian missile attack hits Tel Aviv
An Iranian ballistic missile attack lightly injured four people and badly damaged property in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning after Israeli airstrikes struck multiple Islamic Republic regime sites overnight.
Times of Israel: Woman killed, 2 injured in Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel
A woman was killed Tuesday evening in a Hezbollah rocket attack on the Galilee, as both Iran and its Lebanese terror proxy bombarded northern Israel. Hezbollah launched a barrage of some 30 rockets toward the Rosh Pina area, and fired drones that triggered sirens throughout the north, as it continued to mount near-constant attacks amid intensifying fighting and Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon.
Times of Israel: MKs advance death penalty for terrorists bill for final Knesset plenum votes
The Knesset National Security Committee voted late Tuesday to advance the coalition’s controversial bill to mandate the death penalty for terror convicts to the parliament’s plenum for the final two readings needed for it to pass into law.
Times of Israel: Israel’s US envoy says settler violence a ‘stain’ costing the nation friends
Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter has spoken out strongly against the rising tide of extremist settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, decrying Israel’s failure so far to stamp out the phenomenon but insisting that serious efforts are underway to do so.
Jerusalem Post: Israeli court orders extremist to repay NIS 2.5m. over 2015 Galilee church arson
The Beersheba Magistrate’s Court has ordered Yinon Eliya Reuveni, who was convicted over the 2015 arson attack on the Church of the Loaves and Fishes near the Kinneret, to reimburse the state roughly NIS 2.5 million for compensation it paid to the church after the attack, in a ruling that frames the case not only as a question of damages, but as part of the state’s response to ideologically motivated violence against a religious minority.
Lebanon
Iran International: Iran missile hits Lebanon after Tehran envoy expelled from Beirut
A missile fired from Iran struck Lebanon’s coast hours after Beirut expelled Tehran’s ambassador, sources told Iran International, contradicting earlier reports that it had been intercepted. The projectile was not intercepted in Lebanese airspace and instead landed on the coast, according to Iran International sources, disputing earlier reporting by Reuters.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Wednesday in a televised speech read on his behalf that negotiating with Israel under fire amounts to imposed surrender and called for unity against Israel. The speech, aired on a Hezbollah affiliated television station, said Hezbollah fighters were prepared to continue "without limits".
Kurdistan24: Hezbollah Slams Lebanon’s Expulsion of Iranian Ambassador as “Dangerous Sin”
Hezbollah on Tuesday strongly condemned the Lebanese government’s decision to expel Iran’s newly appointed ambassador, calling the move a “national and strategic sin” and urging authorities to reverse it immediately. The reaction follows an unprecedented decision by Lebanon’s foreign ministry to declare the Iranian ambassador persona non grata and order his departure within days, amid escalating tensions linked to the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Naharnet: Hezbollah calls on authorities to 'immediately reverse' Iran ambassador's expulsion
Hezbollah on Tuesday called the decision by Lebanon's foreign ministry to expel the newly appointed Iranian ambassador a "sin", and demanded the authorities "immediately reverse" the move. In the latest unprecedented step by Lebanese authorities since a new war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's foreign ministry declared the Iranian ambassador persona non grata, giving him until Sunday to leave the country.
The Lebanese army lied to the IDF about its operations to disarm and dismantle Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, Israeli officers say, adding that, now that the military is again operating in the area, it is discovering Hezbollah has reestablished itself and its infrastructure there.
Arrest warrants were issued against four Hezbollah members by Judge Ghada Abu Alwan in Lebanon’s military court on Tuesday, after the terrorists were accused of smuggling weapons into southern Lebanon, according to a statement by the Kataeb Party and reports in local media.
Hezbollah is seeking ways to abduct Israeli soldiers as part of its current confrontation with Israel, according to intelligence officials from a neighboring country cited by KAN News on Wednesday morning.
Libya
Libya's security authorities on Tuesday recovered two exploded projectiles from a damaged crude oil pipeline of Sharara oilfield, said the Tripoli-based interior ministry in a statement. The ministry said in the statement the two exploded projectiles are an M-62 Russian-made missile weighing approximately 250 kg and remnants of a 130 mm rocket.
Ghana
BBC: Ghana and EU sign landmark defence deal to combat militant Islamist threat
Ghana has signed a defence agreement with the European Union (EU) as Islamist militants continue to wreak havoc in neighbouring countries. The agreement, signed in Accra by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Ghanaian Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, strenghtens cooperation in areas such as counterterrorism and cybersecurity.
Nigeria
Africa.com: Nigeria weighs dialogue with extremists
Nigeria’s long-running insurgency is entering a difficult new phase as global attention shifts elsewhere, raising questions about whether military force alone can end the conflict. Since 2010, attacks by groups such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province have devastated communities across the country’s northeast, leaving hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced. Recent assaults on military bases and deadly bombings highlight the pressure on Nigeria’s armed forces. Against this backdrop, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has suggested dialogue with some militants, sparking outrage from those who see any negotiation as betrayal. Nevertheless, supporters argue that negotiations could open doors to a long-term peace that has so far remained elusive.
The U.S. military has sent MQ-9 Reaper drones to Nigeria, a U.S. defense official reportedly told The Associated Press, as fears are growing of a renewed insurgency by the terrorist group Boko Haram. The drones were deployed after 200 U.S. troops arrived in Nigeria last month to provide training and intelligence. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is battling a complex security crisis, especially in the north of the country.
Japan
Nippon.com: Ex-al-Qaeda Member Referred to Prosecutors for 1994 Plane Blast over Okinawa
The police department of Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, on Wednesday sent papers on a former senior member of the al-Qaeda terrorist group to public prosecutors over an explosion on a flight in 1994, which killed a Japanese passenger. Ramzi Yousef, 57, who has Iraqi citizenship, is alleged to have detonated an explosive on a Philippine Airlines passenger flight from Manila to Narita International Airport near Tokyo around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 11, 1994, when the aircraft was flying over the Daito Islands in Okinawa.
Australia
Washington Post: Bondi’s post-Oct. 7 terrorism task force falters after initial fanfare
On Attorney General Pam Bondi’s first day in office, she announced a powerful new task force designed to investigate the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped and murdered more than 40 Americans during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, and to probe antisemitic attacks in the United States.
Sydney Morning Herald: Melbourne teen arrested with Islamic State flag and terrorist manuals
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with collecting terrorist manuals, guides and ISIS propaganda in Melbourne. A joint taskforce of police and intelligence officers began investigating the boy after they detected an Islamic State flag was allegedly ordered to his property in the inner-city, with Victoria Police executing a search warrant at the address on Tuesday, seizing a mobile phone and laptop.
AAP: Teen accused of violent extremist material granted bail
A teenage boy accused of possessing violent extremist material has been granted bail after a magistrate told him his case was "unusual" and serious. The 15-year-old faced Southport Children's Court on Queensland's Gold Coast on Wednesday after police laid additional charges against him as a result of a search of his electronic devices.
Technology
The internet, and by extension, digitalization, has fundamentally transformed the terrorist landscape. We have witnessed the rise of Islamic State’s “cyber jihads,” seen mass far-right propaganda dissemination on the internet and observed the migration of radicalization from leaflets to screens.
Jessica White, director of terrorism and conflict studies at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London, England, said counter-extremism and intelligence researchers have long known extremist groups seek new recruits through video games. Her research has catalogued more than 100 games believed to be made by extremist groups, ranging from shoddy knockoffs to sleek, custom games.
Stay up to date on our latest news.
Get the latest news on extremism and counter-extremism delivered to your inbox.