Eye on Extremism: March 3, 2026
Top Stories
Times of Israel: Trump: Iranians want to talk, I said it’s too late!
US President Donald Trump says Iran’s military assets and leadership are “gone” and that it’s “too late” to hold talks with Iran, in a brief post on his Truth Social account. “Their air defense, Air Force, Navy, and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said ‘Too Late!’,” writes the president, in response to a Washington Post op-ed hailing his decision to attack Iran.
Reuters: Iran's strikes on Gulf states may widen war against Tehran, analysts say
Iranian airstrikes on Gulf states could push them into a broad coalition aligned with the United States and widen the war against Iran, Middle East analysts said, after attacks on ports, cities and oil facilities in a vital energy-producing region. By striking at the Gulf’s economic lifelines in its response to U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, Tehran may be driving wary Gulf states closer to Washington and towards coordinated action against the Islamic Republic, the analysts said.
CEP Mentions
Australian Broadcasting Corporation: VIDEO: 'Unique' radicalisation of German market attacker
Extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler [CEP Senior Director] says, while the perpetrator of the German Christmas market attack had been uniquely radicalised, they have been becoming more common since COVID-19.
The Record: Teaneck couple recount anxious weekend in Israeli bomb shelter
"Once again, Persia is trying to wipe out the Jews," said Lipowsky, a research analyst for the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit with offices in New York. "We're getting our own live reenactment of the Purim story."
Iran's head of state and religious leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in targeted attacks, as were other high-ranking members of the government. This was made possible by informants in Iran who provided intelligence agencies with information about the routines and whereabouts of the leadership, says intelligence and security expert [CEP Senior Director] Hans-Jakob Schindler.
WDR: Iran: Iran: What is this war about?
The US repeatedly emphasizes Iran's nuclear program in its attacks on the country. “Trump and Netanyahu were very clear in their first speech about what this is really about: regime change,” says Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project.
Tagesspiegel: Hezbollah intervenes in the Middle East war: Israel now has a second front
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel.
Berliner Morgenpost: Escalation in Iran: How much power does the mullah regime have in Berlin?
CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler on the terrorist threat level in Germany because of the war against Iran.
Cicero: “Attacks in Germany and Europe are very realistic”
Security expert [CEP Senior Director] Hans Jakob Schindler warns of the possible consequences of war with Iran: unstable conditions could increase migration, raise the risk of terrorist attacks, and trigger economic shocks—with repercussions for Germany.
Analysis
Times of Israel: Sinking Iran’s proxies, Sinwar’s Al-Aqsa Flood left Khamenei high and dry
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei drew his last, likely choked, breath on Saturday, but the seeds of his demise in a joint Israeli-American strike were planted years earlier and far from his Tehran headquarters. The processes that led to his violent death can be traced back to October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group set off a chain of events that would, through a series of twists and turns, lead to Israel and the US launching a war aimed at eliminating the Iranian regime he led for decades.
Iran International: Post-Khamenei Iran: Succession race widens as decentralized system sustains war
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has triggered celebrations among many Iranians, but analysts say the moment marks not an endpoint but the beginning of a new and highly consequential chapter for the Islamic Republic. Despite the historic symbolism of his death, the system Khamenei built was designed to withstand precisely this kind of shock.
United States
Times of Israel: Rubio cites planned Israeli attack as a key reason US launched strikes against Iran
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that a key reason Washington launched major strikes against Iran over the weekend was that it received intelligence that its assets in the region would be targeted in response to an Israeli attack. He later stressed that the joint attack on Iran “needed to happen” in any case.
Jewish Insider: Netanyahu denies pushing Trump into action against Iran
In his first interview since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint military campaign against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the timing of the operation’s launch and rebuffed the notion that he decisively pushed President Donald Trump to take action.
Reuters: Trump seeks to justify Iran war, but stated objectives shift
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday sought to justify a broad, open-ended war on Iran, offering his most extensive public comments yet on an operation whose stated aims and timeline have shifted since it began over the weekend. Trump, who was back at the White House after a weekend in Florida, said the U.S. and Israeli air attacks that began on Saturday had been projected to last four to five weeks but could go on longer. The military campaign has killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sunk at least 10 Iranian warships and struck more than 1,000 targets.
Fox News: FBI remains on high alert, DHS memo warns of lone wolf attacks amid war with Iran
The FBI remains on high alert amid the conflict with Iran, as U.S. forces head to the Middle East as the Trump administration escalates its campaign against the Islamic Republic, Fox News has learned. A senior FBI official told Fox News that the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is still on high alert, and all resources were ready if requested or needed from law enforcement partners.
The J.: Americans For A Safe Israel Calls On UN To Expel PLO Following Hamas Remarks
Americans for a Safe Israel, a long-standing pro-Israel advocacy organization in the United States, is calling on the United Nations to expel the Palestine Liberation Organization and revoke the standing of the so-called State of Palestine within UN bodies. The demand follows remarks by PLO Secretary General Azzam al-Ahmed in a February 23 interview with Cairo-based Shorouk News. According to AFSI, al-Ahmed stated that “all talk of disarming Hamas and their being a terrorist organization is unacceptable to us,” and affirmed that Hamas is part of what he described as the Palestinian cause. He also said Hamas would be permitted to participate in future Palestinian Authority elections.
Neither of the two frontrunners in the Texas Democratic Senate primary addressed concerns about Islamic terrorism in the wake of a deadly shooting on Sunday morning in Austin that left three dead and more than a dozen others wounded.
Stanford Daily: University to pursue investigation, increase security following antisemitic emails
The FBI and law enforcement are working with the University to conduct an ongoing investigation into antisemitic emails sent to members of Stanford’s Jewish community over the weekend, according to a University statement issued Monday morning.
Mustang News: Alpha Epsilon Pi member assaulted in antisemitic hate crime
Authorities are searching for men who assaulted a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity in an antisemitic hate crime on Saturday. At approximately 9:50 p.m. on Feb. 28, a large white truck with “extensive aftermarket lighting” drove near the house of Cal Poly’s Jewish fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, at 280 California Blvd. The men in the truck yelled antisemitic slurs at the residents of the Alpha Epsilon Pi house, according to the Timely Warning Crime Bulletin email sent to students by the University Police Department.
Free Press: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Holocaust 2.0’ Threat Sent to Stanford Chabad House
Hours before hundreds of Jewish students were due to celebrate Purim at the Chabad House of Stanford University, Rabbi Dov Greenberg received an email. “The coming Holocaust 2.0?” said the subject line of the email that landed in the Chabad chapter’s general inbox on Monday.
Santa Cruz Sentinel: UC faculty urge regents to enforce rules amid antisemitism investigations
Hundreds of University of California faculty members are urging the system’s governing board to crack down on what they describe as the “misuse of UC authority” for organized political activism, warning that failing to enforce existing policies could fuel allegations of antisemitism and jeopardize federal research funding.
Fox 4: Florida lawmakers consider antisemitism task force as incidents rise
Florida lawmakers consider antisemitism task force as incidents rise Lawmakers in Tallahassee are considering new legislation aimed at addressing a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents across Florida — a move local faith leaders said is urgently needed.
Canada
CBC: White nationalist fight clubs pose risk for 'extreme violence,' warns government report
The growing white nationalist "active club" movement poses a risk for "extreme violence" in Canada, according to an internal Public Safety Canada brief obtained by CBC News. The report appears to reveal, for the first time, that the federal department that oversees the RCMP is addressing this movement directly. In previous reporting, the RCMP would not specifically comment on the rapid rise of active clubs — white nationalist groups that operate under the guise of getting fit through training and combat sports.
Europe
Reuters: Europe's far right unites around killing of French activist
The killing of a young activist in France - cast by some as the country's "Charlie Kirk moment" - has galvanised Europe's far right, sparking coordinated rallies across the continent that highlight how local groups are building cross-border networks. Quentin Deranque, a 23-year-old far-right activist, died after being beaten during a fight with far-left activists in Lyon on February 14, drawing comparisons with last year's shooting of the U.S. conservative activist Kirk.
Germany
Germany’s Federal Attorney General (GBA) – an agency charged with investigating the most serious attacks against the country’s domestic security – overwhelmingly dealt with threats from Islamist terrorists and foreign extremists in 2025.
Germany’s leading party is being investigated in Berlin for funneling millions to groups that proposed fighting antisemitism but lacked transparency about their use of the funds — including one group whose director has been accused of antisemitic language herself. The Berlin branch of the Christian Democratic Union, the center-right party leading the federal government, is being probed by a parliamentary committee for allegedly improperly allocating 2.6 million euros to combat antisemitism. The party, the committee alleges, did not vet the groups adequately or monitor their spending.
DPA: Germany's far-right AfD criticizes US-Israeli attacks on Iran
The co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has criticized the US-Israeli attacks on Iran. "I do not celebrate missile attacks, regardless of which country they are directed at and who is responsible for them," Tino Chrupalla told broadcaster RTL on Tuesday. "You cannot celebrate such attacks because civilians are always killed; you can only condemn them."
United Kingdom
The Times: Ban London march linked to Iranian regime, MPs demand
Labour MPs and peers have called for an annual march linked to the Iranian regime to be banned, warning it risks inflaming tensions and providing a platform for extremism. The Al Quds demonstration, held in London each year during Ramadan, has prompted repeated clashes between politicians, police and campaign groups over the limits of free speech.
Independent: Starmer hits out at ‘extremism’ of Green Party and Reform UK
Sir Keir Starmer urged Labour MPs to unite behind his leadership and embrace the 'mainstream majority' following a significant by-election defeat. The Green Party's Hannah Spencer won the Gorton and Denton by-election, becoming their fifth MP, while Labour finished in third place.
Starmer's standing among MPs was reportedly boosted by his handling of the situation involving Donald Trump and Iran, where he advocated for international law. He cautioned against the 'extremism' of the Green Party and Reform UK, who secured first and second positions respectively in the recent by-election.
BBC: One of UK's richest men wants German citizenship over 'hostility' to Jews
"Britain is an uncomfortable place for Jews today," Cardiff-born billionaire Sir Michael Moritz has said. The Welsh investor said Britain was "far more hostile than the US" towards its Jewish community, citing the attack on Manchester's Heaton Park synagogue in 2025. Sir Michael, who has written about his family's experience of the Nazis, said "antisemitism is always in the air" and there were modern parallels to the persecution they had faced.
Bristol Live: MP concerned at 'far-right' Islamophobic march in Bristol
A Bristol MP has said she is concerned about plans for a ‘patriots’ march in Bristol next month which she said was ‘clearly targeted against Muslims in the city. Kerry McCarthy said she had spoken with police chiefs about the ‘alarming development’ which saw a street brawl in her constituency earlier this month, when a group of ‘far-right activists’ tried to storm an anti-fascist fundraising gig at a pub in East Bristol.
Russia
A court in Russia on Tuesday designated a prominent LGBTQ+ rights group as an extremist organization, the latest blow to the country’s beleaguered community that has faced an intensified crackdown in recent years under President Vladimir Putin.
Afghanistan
Reuters: Pakistani and Afghan troops clash, UN says 42 Afghan civilians killed
Pakistani and Afghan troops clashed at multiple points along their expansive border on Tuesday as the United Nations mission for Afghanistan warned that 42 civilians in the country had been killed so far in the six-day conflict. The South Asian allies-turned-foeshave engaged in their worst fighting in years following Pakistani air strikes on major Afghan cities last week, raising fears of another protracted conflict in a region also contending with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Signals Preparedness For Extended Conflict
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, said the group is prepared for a prolonged conflict if fighting continues. Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, Fitrat said war had never been the Taliban’s first option. However, he said that if the opposing side persisted in confrontation, the group was ready for a sustained fight to defend the people and its territory.
Afghanistan International: Taliban Threatens To Expel Pakistan’s Ambassador If Strikes Continue
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban, condemned Pakistan’s continued airstrikes on Afghan cities and said the group could close Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul if the attacks persist. Speaking at a news conference in Kabul, Fitrat said confrontation was not the Taliban’s first choice and that the war had been imposed on them. He added that shutting down consulates or embassies would be a temporary measure.
Afghanistan International: 464 Taliban Killed In ‘Ghazab-ul-Haq’ Operation, Says Pakistan
Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s information minister, said that by Tuesday, 3 March, 464 members of the Taliban had been killed and more than 665 wounded in Operation “Ghazab-ul-Haq”. In a post on X, Tarar said Pakistani forces had destroyed 188 posts and captured 31 others.
Iran
The IDF targeted a building in which Tehran's 88-member Assembly of Experts was meeting to choose Iran's next supreme leader, Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. Iranian news agencies reported that the building was "flattened" during the Israeli strikes.
Times of Israel: US CENTCOM publishes footage of strikes on Iranian missile launchers
The US Central Command publishes footage of American airstrikes on Iranian ballistic missile launchers in Iran. “The Iranian regime is using mobile launchers to indiscriminately fire missiles in an attempt to inflict maximum harm across the region. US forces are hunting these threats down and without apology or hesitation, we are taking them out,” CENTCOM says.
One of two high-profile Shi’ite religious leaders in Iran who issued fatwas following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei formerly received a £15,000 ‘religious tolerance’ grant from Brent Council. On Sunday, following the assassination of Khamenei by the US and Israel, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani and Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi issued fatwas calling on Muslims worldwide to take revenge.
Israel
Times of Israel: Medics say seven injured in three locations as result of Iranian missile attack
Seven people are wounded at three locations in central Israel following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack, medics say. Intercepted missile fragments or sub-munitions from cluster bomb warheads hit several locations. The IDF says it is investigating the impact sites.
Times of Israel: Three lightly hurt in latest ballistic missile attack on central Israel
Three people are lightly wounded in central Israel following Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack, medics say. The IDF says it has dispatched search and rescue forces to the sites where intercepted missile fragments or possible sub-munitions from cluster bomb warheads impacted, causing the injuries and damage.
Israel hacked into Tehran’s extensive traffic camera network in order to track the bodyguards of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials ahead of Saturday’s assassination of the supreme leader, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Naharnet: Hezbollah targets 3 Israeli bases with drones and rockets
Hezbollah on Tuesday said it targeted three Israeli military bases in response to Israeli strikes on the group's strongholds in Lebanon, including the south Beirut suburbs. Israel continues to carry out successive air raids, particularly on Beirut's southern suburbs and the south of the country, after sometimes issuing evacuation warnings to residents, while Lebanese authorities on Monday recorded the displacement of around 29,000 people from areas hit by the strikes.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Aoun tells Quint ban on Hezbollah's military activity 'irreversible'
President Joseph Aoun said Tuesday that the decision to ban Hezbollah's military activities is "irreversible", as the Iran-backed movement claimed responsibility for new attacks targeting Israeli positions. Speaking to members of the Quintet -- a committee made up of the French, U.S., Qatari, Saudi Arabian, and Egyptian ambassadors -- the president called the decision "final," after a Hezbollah on Monday night lambasted the state's "impotence in the face of the brutal Zionist enemy".
Naharnet: Hezbollah official threatens 'open war' against Israel
The deputy head of Hezbollah’s political council, Mahmoud Qmati, on Tuesday issued a statement addressed to the residents of south Lebanon, saying that Hezbollah had maintained its “patience” after the 2024 ceasefire agreement for “their sake” and to “avert aggression,” hoping that the state would “achieve a positive outcome through its diplomatic efforts.”
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday it had deployed troops deeper into southern Lebanon, beyond the five posts it currently holds, “as part of an enhanced forward defense posture” amid attacks by the Hezbollah terror group.
Israel said Monday that the head of Hezbollah’s intelligence arm was killed in an overnight strike and Beirut said it would ban the terror group’s military activities, hours after the Iran-backed organization fired rockets and drones at Israel, leading to major retaliatory strikes overnight and throughout Monday.
Reuters: Lebanon sucked deeper into war as Hezbollah, Israel trade blows
Lebanon was pulled deeper into the war in the Middle East on Tuesday as the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel for a second consecutive day and Israel sent troops into the south and carried out waves of air strikes. Israel's neighbour to the north and the theatre of numerous conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon had avoided spillover from the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran until Monday, when Hezbollah opened fire with drones and missiles.
Jerusalem Post: IDF kills Iranian Quds Force member tasked with arming Hezbollah in Beirut strike
The IDF confirmed on Tuesday morning that it had killed a top commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force responsible for communication with Hezbollah and building up its weaponry, in strikes on Beirut a day prior.
Naharnet: Israel army says struck assets of Hezbollah-linked financial institution
The Israeli military said it struck assets of a financial institution on Monday already sanctioned by Washington for funding Hezbollah activities." A short while ago, the (Israeli military) completed a wave of strikes against the Al-Qard Al-Hassan Association, which funds the Hezbollah terrorist organization throughout Lebanon," the military said, without specifying where the strikes were carried out.
Saudi Arabia
Associated Press: Iran strikes the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia as war expands yet again
Iran expanded its targets Tuesday, striking the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia as Washington began to pull many staff out of the Middle East. The U.S. and Israel battered Iran with airstrikes in what President Donald Trump suggested was just the start of a war that has severely disrupted the world’s supply of oil and gas, international shipping, and air travel.
United Arab Emirates
Times of Israel: UAE says 172 Iranian missiles have been shot down, only one direct impact recorded
The United Arab Emirates’ air defenses have faced 186 ballistic missiles launched towards the country from Iran since the start of the US-Israeli conflict with the Iranian regime, a defense ministry spokesperson says, according to an Arabic-language post on X.
Congo
Reuters: US imposes sanctions on Rwanda military over east Congo fighting
The U.S. on Monday imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force and top military officials over their role in ongoing fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and called for their immediate withdrawal from the mineral-rich region. Rwanda has long rejected allegations from Congo, the United Nations and Western powers that it supports the AFC/M23 rebel group, which staged a lightning offensive last year and now holds more territory in eastern DRC than ever before.
Stay up to date on our latest news.
Get the latest news on extremism and counter-extremism delivered to your inbox.