Eye on Extremism: May 26, 2026
Top Stories
The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines, even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations with Tehran were “proceeding nicely.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hezbollah in a statement Sunday of trying to plunge Lebanon “back into chaos” by continuing to fight against Israel and by calling to overthrow the Lebanese government. Rubio denounced what he called Hezbollah’s “reckless call to overthrow Lebanon’s democratically elected government” and said the Iran-backed terror group was “actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction.”
CEP Mentions
Deutsche Welle: Germany: RAF left-wing terrorism is back in the spotlight
Klette was arrested in February 2024, in central Berlin, where police said she had been living as "Claudia Ivone" for some 20 years. It remains unclear how she was able to evade authorities for decades, but Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) think tank, said that extremist left-wing networks remain notoriously difficult for German police to infiltrate or to gather information on.
ZDFheute: Expert: US deal with Iran "could still go relatively wrong"
A framework agreement between Iran and the US is imminent, according to US media reports. Donald Trump considers the deal "largely" negotiated – Tehran is more reserved and speaks of "extreme caution" towards Washington. On ZDFheute live, Iran expert Hans-Jakob Schindler also dampened expectations of a quick agreement and a swift end to the Iran conflict .
ZDFheute: Trump: End of war imminent – Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program
Will the Iran-Iraq War end with a defeat for Donald Trump? What is known about the likely agreement between the US and Iran? And what happens next? Christian Hoch discusses this live on ZDFheute with Iran expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
WELT TV: "Hamas has reasserted its claim to power in Gaza in recent months."
The Israeli military has confirmed the death of Hamas's military leader in the Gaza Strip in an airstrike. "This does not, of course, mean that Hamas as an organization has been significantly and permanently weakened," said Middle East expert Hans-Jakob Schindler.
NTV: Iran deal "looks like Gaza peace plan"
According to extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, the US government has already had to make more concessions than the Iranian regime in the ongoing peace negotiations. The future of the Iranian nuclear program remains uncertain.
Hans-Jakob Schindler analyzes the current situation concerning the war against Iran.
Bayerischer Rundfunk: Bayern 2 The World in the Morning
Hans-Jakob Schindler analyzes the current situation concerning the war against Iran. (Interview begins at 7:10:00)
Berliner Morgenpost: Suspected attack plans in Berlin – expert recognizes Iran's change of strategy
Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) in New York and Berlin, sees a new development in the current case. Over the past four years, it has been observed that the Revolutionary Guard has been using intermediaries to spread extremist ideologies.
United States
Reuters: Iranian hackers responsible for Los Angeles transit system breach, Israeli researchers say
Iranian hackers were responsible for a disruptive computer breach in March that forced Los Angeles' transit system to shut down parts of its network, Israeli researchers say. The saboteurs stole at least 700 gigabytes of emails, backups, and other files from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), according to Gambit Security, a Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity firm that said it discovered the misappropriated data after it was inadvertently exposed online.
In a landmark ruling in April, a French court convicted Lafarge, the world’s largest cement manufacturer, of providing material support to a terror group and sentenced its former CEO to 6 years in prison. Eight former Lafarge employees were found guilty. Lafarge is appealing. The company acknowledged the court’s finding describing the issue as a "legacy matter," which was "in flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct." Nearly 1,000 plaintiffs, most of them military families, are part of earlier litigation in the Eastern District of New York.
“It’s absurd for a medical union to ignore other issues and just demonize Israel and Zionists,” American Jewish Dr. Jacob Agronin, a Philadelphia-based cardiology fellow, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.
City AM: Fifa World Cup under drone terrorism threat, security experts warn
Fifa World Cup organisers will be on alert amid fears domestic terror cells could surface at next month’s tournament, security experts have warned. The quadrennial tournament heads to North America next month for its next iteration – spanning 104 matches in the United States, Canada and Mexico – and keeping the millions of attending fans safe has become a major priority, more so since the continuation of the conflict between the USA and Iran – both competing in the World Cup – in the Gulf.
CNN: How a Texas Democrat rebuked by her party for antisemitism made it to the runoff
Maureen Galindo, a sex therapist and housing advocate, caught Democrats off guard when she placed first in the March 3 primary for Texas’ 35th Congressional District, despite spending just a few thousand dollars on her campaign.
The Hill: Texas Democrat blames ‘local journalist twisting words’ after antisemitism accusations
A Democratic House candidate in Texas is blaming local media for twisting her words as she faces accusations of antisemitism from national and local Democrats over comments she made on social media.
JTA: Galindo’s antisemitic rhetoric sparks outrage ahead of Tuesday runoff. Did it fuel her rise?
When Maureen Galindo finished first in a crowded Democratic primary for a newly redrawn South Texas congressional district in March, the result surprised even seasoned observers of San Antonio politics. With voters set to decide the Democratic nomination Tuesday, as Galindo faces off with sheriff’s deputy Johnny Garcia, local officials and political observers are grappling with how a little-known candidate with a history of inflammatory remarks about Israel and Jews has come within striking distance of a seat in Congress.
Jewish Insider: After Mills withdrawal, Auchincloss reiterates Platner’s Nazi tattoo ‘disqualifying’
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) said on Monday that Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi totenkopf was “disqualifying,” weeks after Gov. Janet Mills’ departed from the Democratic primary race, leaving Platner as the party’s presumptive nominee challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced plans for a last-minute spending campaign against Maureen Galindo, an antisemitic Texas Democratic candidate who garnered condemnation this week for comments calling to imprison and castrate Zionists.
San Diego mosque shooter Caleb Vazquez was obsessed with a “based racist” Dutch cartoon character, according to his online pals and his purported manifesto. Vazquez, 18, and his co-killer Cain Clark, 17, met through twisted internet circles encouraging Nazi and incel rhetoric — and acted on their hateful fantasies during the Monday bloodbath at the Islamic Center of San Diego.
Argentina
JTA: Argentine official who investigated death of AMIA prosecutor charged with covering up evidence
The former prosecutor who led the investigation into a mysterious 2015 death that unnerved Argentina’s Jewish community has been charged with concealing evidence in the case. Viviana Fein was indicted on May 12 on charges of “aggravated concealment” over her handling of the investigation into the death of Alberto Nisman, a special prosecutor appointed to investigate the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.
Belgium
Belga News Agency: Jewish community remains main target of threat reports in Belgium
The Jewish community remained the primary target of threat reports in Belgium in 2025, according to the annual report published on Tuesday by the Coordination Body for Threat Analysis (OCAD). At the same time, the overall number of threat reports handled by OCAD declined compared with the previous year. The agency received 157 reports in 2025, down from 213 in 2024. There was also a noticeable decrease in the number of “serious threats” classified at level 3.
Germany
Earlier this year, the city was hit by its longest power cut since the second world war. But were those responsible eco-terrorists, agents of the far-right, or even Russian proxies?
Until 2019, the German foreign office supported an aid organization with close ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood without knowing how the funds were actually being used. This information appears in a newly released confidential audit by Germany’s Federal Court of Auditors, which the Institute for Secular Law (Institut für Weltanschauungsrecht or IFW) has been trying to obtain for five years.
Until now, unsuccessfully.
Greece
Greek Herald: Neo-Nazi Stefan Eracleous granted bail after jail sentence for harassment of MPs
Neo-Nazi Stefan Eracleous has been released on bail after being sentenced to jail for harassing Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe and NSW Liberal MP Kellie Sloane, including sending extremist and racially charged messages. The 33-year-old former Young Liberal was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday to four months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to harassing both MPs. Under the sentence, he was set to serve two months before being released on a two-year recognisance release order.
Netherlands
An alleged Hamas financier on trial in the Netherlands for funneling funds to the Palestinian terrorist organization told an undercover investigator that his job was to take down Israel, according to the NGO Ad Kan.
Afghanistan
From the dusty lanes of Sperwan village in Kandahar’s Panjwai district and the barren deserts of Takhta Pul district emerges the story of a man who today rules Afghanistan through decrees and edicts, yet whose face and private life remain cloaked in secrecy.
Afghanistan International: Russia Accuses Britain Of Supporting Armed Anti-Taliban Groups
Alexander Bortnikov, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service, says ISIS-K, affiliated jihadist groups and armed anti-Taliban factions are trying to weaken the Taliban administration with the active support of British intelligence services. Bortnikov said the groups are seeking to expand areas outside Taliban control, particularly in northern Afghanistan.
Amu: Russian security chief says ISIS-K recruiting Central Asian nationals in Afghanistan
Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), said on Tuesday that the ISIS regional affiliate in Afghanistan is actively recruiting citizens of Central Asian countries and labor migrants living in Russia. Speaking at a meeting of security chiefs from the Commonwealth of Independent States in Moscow, Bortnikov said ISIS-K, the group’s Afghanistan-based branch, was drawing recruits from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. He said the group was also attempting to establish clandestine networks across the region and prepare potential attacks.
Bahrain
Yemen Online: GCC Condemns Hezbollah Leader’s Interference in Bahrain’s Internal Affairs
Jasem Mohamed Al-Budaiwi, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), strongly denounced on Monday the remarks made by Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naeem Qassem regarding Bahrain’s domestic affairs, calling them an unacceptable interference in the sovereignty of a member state.
Gaza Strip/West Bank
Tension has mounted in Gaza in recent days after Hamas claimed that members of the Israeli-backed militias in the strip requested to break away and rejoin Hamas. Hussam al-Astal, head of the anti-Hamas militia in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, rejected Hamas’s claims, arguing they were part of the organization’s psychological war to undermine the armed groups' power and pressure Gazans not to reach out to them.
JNS: IDF slays senior Hamas weapons maker in central Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces carried out a targeted strike in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing a Hamas terrorist involved in weapons production, the military said on Monday.
The Guardian: Board of Peace focus on Hamas risks return to war in Gaza, critics say
The top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war. The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”.
JNS: Filing submitted against Hamas at ICC on behalf of Palestinian from Gaza
A filing has been submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of a Palestinian from Gaza calling for 14 Hamas leaders to be investigated for war crimes committed against the Palestinian people, an American lawyer said last week.
Iran
Countries in the Middle East will no longer be able to host US military bases, Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's official Farsi-language X/Twitter account posted on Tuesday.
Iran International: IRGC says it downed US MQ-9 drone over Persian Gulf
The Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that its air defense units shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the Persian Gulf after what it described as “precise intelligence monitoring.”
Iran International: Pezeshkian orders internet restoration, IRGC media questions his authority
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday ordered the Ministry of Communications to restore international internet access to its pre-January status, his spokesman said, while IRGC-affiliated media questioned his authority to make such a decision.
Israel
Jerusalem Post: Hezbollah launches largest drone attack ever against Israel in northern Israel
Israel’s security establishment has identified a significant escalation in Hezbollah’s drone threat following a large-scale attack on northern Israel - an incident described by a security official as “the most powerful drone attack ever launched against Israel.” Several drones penetrated Israeli territory, causing fires and injuring both soldiers and civilians, while others reportedly hovered above Israeli towns and strategic sites in the north, further deepening residents’ fear and sense of insecurity.
NDTV: 'Hezbollah Planned Hamas-Like Attacks On Israel': Israeli Commander To NDTV
The Israeli forces have intensified strikes in southern Lebanon, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the military to escalate its offensive in an effort to "crush" Iran's proxy Hezbollah, further threatening the already fragmented ceasefire. On Tuesday, an Israeli airstrike on Mashghara village in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley killed 12 people as more troops were called on the ground.
Israel will escalate strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday evening, as a US official said the terror group had ignored warnings to halt firing at Israel in a conflict that could threaten US-Iran negotiations. The prime minister’s remarks were followed by confirmation from the IDF that it had launched a fresh wave of strikes against Hezbollah targets in eastern and southern Lebanon.
An unmanned aerial vehicle launched by Hezbollah impacted in the northern border community of Metula on Monday, striking a residential home but causing no injuries. The incident prompted far-right ministers to demand ramped-up fighting in Lebanon, ahead of a potential Iran-US deal that could curb Israeli action against the terror group.
Jordan
JNS: Antisemitism and hostility to Israel persist in Jordanian textbooks
Thirty-two years after Israel and Jordan made peace, Jordanian school textbooks still include antisemitic content, which is both deeply hostile to the State of Israel and encourages violent interpretations of Jihad, a study released Tuesday found.
Lebanon
Naharnet: Daryan says Hezbollah's approach against Israel has proven 'unsuccessful' and 'disastrous'
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, Lebanon's most senior Sunni cleric, has thrown his support behind the Lebanese state and strongly criticized Hezbollah over the 2024 and 2026 wars with Israel. "None of us is convinced anymore by the methods used in confronting the enemy... seeing as in every confrontation we lose more land, more lives, and more of the requirements for stability, tranquility, and the preservation of honor and dignity, not to mention security and sovereignty," Daryan said in a statement marking Eid al-Adha.
On the centenary of the Lebanese constitution, Hezbollah stated that "the Lebanese people stand at a crucial juncture in a highly sensitive domestic and regional moment" that "necessitates, more than ever, adherence to the Lebanese constitution, as amended by the Taif Agreement, as the binding framework for regulating disputes among the Lebanese, managing their state's affairs, and preserving their unity and sovereignty." "It also requires leaving behind the era of mandates, high commissioners, and foreign tutelage, because that era has ended and will never return to Lebanon in any form or guise," Hezbollah stressed.
Times of Israel: Soldier killed in south Lebanon by Hezbollah drone, another seriously wounded
A soldier was killed in battle on Sunday in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces announced Monday morning. Sgt. Nehoray Leizer, 19, from Eilat, a combat engineer in the 601st Battalion, was killed by an explosive Hezbollah drone, the IDF said.
Hezbollah is using night-vision technology to carry out drone strikes on IDF soldiers in Lebanon, Israel's public broadcaster KAN News reported on Monday evening.
Israel has attempted to target Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem at least twice in recent weeks, Saudi outlet Al Hadath reported on Monday, citing an anonymous Israeli source. The report came shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that he had instructed the IDF to intensify attacks against the terrorist organization.
Yemen
Yemen Online: Yemen : Houthis Escalate Economic Abuses Ahead of Eid al-Adha
The Houthi militia has intensified economic violations against citizens in areas under its control, imposing new financial levies on traders and livestock breeders while confiscating sacrificial animals intended for poor families and displaced persons, sparking widespread outrage ahead of Eid al-Adha.
Pakistan
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle near a railway track as a passenger train passed through the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Sunday, killing at least 23 people and wounding over 70 others, officials said. The force of the explosion caused two of the train cars to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke into the air, according to footage shared online.
Afghanistan International: UN Condemns Deadly Train Attack In Balochistan
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, condemned the deadly attack on a passenger train in Quetta, saying terrorism in all its forms is unacceptable. Dujarric said the United Nations secretary-general had stressed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is unacceptable and called for those responsible for the attack to be identified and brought to justice.
Mali
Defense Post: Mali Army Conducts Drone Strikes on Rebel-Held Northern Town
Mali’s army has carried out drone strikes on the northern town of Kidal, which has been under the control of Tuareg separatists and their jihadist allies since a large offensive last month, local and military sources said Friday.
Nigeria
Reuters: Gunmen abduct 25 people in twin attacks in Nigeria's Kwara state, police say
Suspected bandits attacked a police station and a traditional ruler’s palace in Nigeria’s Kwara state early on Sunday, abducting at least 10 people and setting part of the palace on fire, police said on Monday. Kwara, in Nigeria’s north-central region, has in recent years faced a spillover of violent attacks linked to armed groups often referred to locally as bandits, who operate across forested border regions and are known for kidnappings for ransom.
Australia
Independent: Australia prepares for arrival of 19 women and children linked to Isis
A group of 19 Australian women and children linked to Isis group had booked flights to return from Syria and some could face charges, the government said on Tuesday.
The head of an inquiry into antisemitism in Australia on Tuesday said Jewish witnesses who appeared before it are facing online harassment and bigotry and issued a condemnation. The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion was created in response to two gunmen allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group slaying 15 people at a Sydney Hanukkah celebration in December. Royal commissions are Australia’s highest form of public inquiry.
Jewish Australians have reported a dramatic increase in harassment and intimidation online after giving evidence at the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion. Before starting hearings on Tuesday morning the commissioner, Virginia Bell, said at least one instance had been referred to the Australian federal police.
Reuters: Australian police did no threat assessment before Bondi attack, inquiry hears
Australian state police did not prepare a threat assessment for the event where the Bondi Beach mass shooting occurred and denied a request from the Jewish community to station officers there, an inquiry into the attack heard on Monday.
Antisemitism in Australia was left unchecked after the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, fueling violence against Jews, the country’s spy chief testified Monday to an inquiry into the Bondi Beach terror attack.
Technology
WIRED: US Law Enforcement Warns of ‘Anti-Tech Extremism’ as AI Hatred Grows
As Americans stew over the looming risk of job-stealing AI and data centers in their back yards, the feds are raising the alarm about a new category of threat, documents obtained by WIRED show.
Los Angeles Times: How to talk to your kids about extremism online
Teens are going online earlier and more often than past generations. And psychologists and psychiatrists say kids, in their formative years, could easily see extremist content online and, in some cases, possibly connect with extremist groups in search of social belonging.
Fox News: Concerns grow over young men, online extremism: ‘We have a problem in this country’
Legal and political strategist Katie Zacharia joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss the armed suspect killed near the White House, growing concerns over political extremism and the ongoing threats facing President Donald Trump.
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