Friday, May 31, 2019

IPT Probes Islamism and the Hypocrisy and Distortions Used to Promote It



May 31, 2019

Featured Stories

Brotherhood Designation Requires a Chapter-Based Approach

by John Rossomando  •  May 30, 2019  •  IPT News FacebookTwitter
Amid reports that the Trump administration again is considering designating Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group, several longtime Brotherhood watchdogs and critics are urging caution.

Professor Warns of Growing Progressive Terrorist Support

by John Rossomando  •  May 20, 2019 FacebookTwitter
A May 8 incident at San Diego State University (SDSU) highlights a trend of glamorizing Palestinian terrorists on college campuses, SDSU English Professor Peter C. Herman wrote Saturday in the Times of San Diego news site.

The Naked Hypocrisy of CAIR's Hussam Ayloush

by Steven Emerson  •  May 20, 2019  •  IPT News FacebookTwitter
Oh boy, was Hussam Ayloush ever mad!
Asked to condemn Hamas in 2013, Ayloush called the question "unacceptable" and lashed out at the questioner, saying it was "very shameful" and "proves that you have nothing but bigotry in you."

"Cherry Picked and Out of Context" – Deception Dominates ICNA Co-Sponsored "Inventing Terrorists" Report

by Steven Emerson  •  May 20, 2019  •  IPT News FacebookTwitter

As IPT Senior Fellow Patrick Dunleavy noted Friday, the Islamic Circle of North America has helped update a report on terrorist prosecutions in the United States which claims more than 9 in 10 cases involving Muslim suspects are bogus.

Featured Videos

German Newspaper Prints Cut-Out Paper Kippah After Jews Warned Against Wearing Skullap

'American Taliban' John Walker Lindh Released from Federal Prison


Also in the News

Lyon Bomb Suspect Had Pledged Allegiance to IS

May 31, 2019  •  Associated Press FacebookTwitter
The main suspect in the bombing last week in the French city of Lyon that wounded 14 people had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, France's counter-terrorism prosecutor said on Friday.

Two Hurt, One Seriously, In Stabbing Attack in Jerusalem's Old City

May 31, 2019  •  Times of Israel FacebookTwitter
At least two people were injured, one of them seriously, in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday morning, officials said.

Iraq Sentences Seven ISIS Fighters from France to Death

May 30, 2019  •  Wall Street Journal FacebookTwitter
Iraq handed death sentences this week to seven French citizens who joined Islamic State, in trials that have drawn criticism from rights groups and spotlighted the challenges of dealing with foreign fighters captured in Iraq and Syria.

SWU Pressure Leads UCLA to Probe Anti-Zionist Incident

May 30, 2019  •  Jerusalem Post FacebookTwitter
Stand With Us (SWU) was able to declare an initial victory on Thursday after its letter threatening legal liability against UCLA got the university to take some action regarding an incident in which a guest speaker called Israel-supporters white supremacists.

Hamas Leader Admits Group Receiving Iranian Military and Financial Support

May 30, 2019  •  Algemeiner FacebookTwitter
The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip publicly admitted on Thursday that the terrorist group was getting military and financial backing from Iran.
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Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah



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 Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah 

May 31, 2019

Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah, is a UANI weekly resource highlighting developments in Lebanon and the activities of the terrorist group Hezbollah.  

Hezbollah Internationally

Israel Defense Forces Releases Videos of Largest Hezbollah Tunnel
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released videos this week showing the interior of the largest tunnel Hezbollah had dug into Israel, one day before destroying it. The tunnel, more than a kilometer in length, began in the southern Lebanese village of Ramiya and extended several dozen meters into northern Israel.

Hezbollah Participating in Battles in Hama's Northern Countryside
Mustafa al-Bukour, the operations commander of Syrian opposition group Jaysh al-Izza,
claimed this week that Hezbollah was participating in battles in the countryside north of Hama, a city in west-central Syria. Al-Bukour said his fighters had intercepted combatant conversations in the area north of Hama calling for correction of artillery fire, interdiction operations, and battle instructions. Al-Bukour said his group's information indicates hundreds of Hezbollah fighters have moved into the area on instructions from Russia, "leaving no doubt about Hezbollah's participation in recent Hama battles." The same report quoted Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander Abdesalam Abdel-rizk as suggesting Hezbollah may have also fought in recent battles in Kafr Nboudha - northwest of Hama - to reinforce the Syrian Army in light of its recent heavy casualties.

Houthis Solicit Donations for Hezbollah
Yemen's Iran-sponsored Houthis used their radio station - SAM FM 99.1 - to solicit donations for Hezbollah in Lebanon. The radio station said it was accepting donations from supporters through its "official account in all Yemeni post offices." U.S. economic sanctions on Iran have purportedly reduced the Islamic Republic's level of financial support for Hezbollah, its primary proxy.

Hashem Safieddine: Resistance is Our Religion
In a speech this week, the chairman of Hezbollah's Executive Council Hashem Safieddine
said Hezbollah's commitment to "resistance" would only increase under pressure, "because it is a religion as far as we're concerned, and what guarantees our place in the afterlife."

Lebanon Internationally

Lebanon and Israel Close to Framework for Land-Maritime Border Talks
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Lebanon and Israel were close to establishing a framework for negotiations on demarcating the Lebanon-Israel land and maritime borders. The statement, released after a meeting on Tuesday between Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil and U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield, said the form of negotiations to be held under the auspices of the United Nations - and overseen by the United States - as well as the role of each of the concerned parties, is still being worked out.

Satterfield returned to Lebanon this week from Israel in an optimistic mood, indicating there had been progress on reaching a negotiation framework with the Israelis. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry, for its part, expected border talks to begin within the next two weeks. However, despite progress, not all concerns have been ironed out. One report noted that Israel had yet to agree to linking the issues of land and maritime borders, a key Lebanese demand. Lebanese officials expressed their belief that Israel may merely be employing a hardline negotiation tactic, and will eventually relax its demands.

Nabih Berri: Israel Agreeing to Border Demarcation Because Jews are Greedy
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told al-Joumhouria this week that Israel had softened its stance on demarcating its maritime border with Lebanon because Jews are greedy. He explained the change in Israel's attitude with this anecdote: "How do you identify a Jew? Simple: if you see a pregnant woman, throw a gold coin under her or near her. If the fetus jumps out of its mom's womb and takes gold, you'll immediately know it's a Jew." Berri claimed that Israel wanted to reap the financial benefits of solving the border issue with Lebanon, paving the way for international companies to invest in offshore oil and gas drilling.

U.S. Air Force Central Command Chief Visits Lebanon
The Commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Lt. Gen. Joseph T. Guastella, Jr., visited Lebanon this week. He met with the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), General Joseph Aoun, as well as other LAF key leaders, while visiting Hamat Air Base and Beirut Air Base on Monday and Tuesday. In his meetings, Lt. Gen. Guastella discussed the many challenges faced by the Lebanese Air Force, reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to a stronger Lebanese-American partnership, and continued U.S. support for the LAF in its capacity as the sole, legitimate defender of Lebanon.







United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.

Eye on Iran: U.S. Will Respond With Military Force If Iran Attacks Its Interests: Hook



   EYE ON IRAN
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The United States will respond with military force if its interests are attacked by Iran, the U.S. Iran envoy said on Thursday as Arab leaders gathered in Saudi Arabia to discuss what they see as the threat from Tehran amid rising tensions.  But U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said U.S. actions taken so far in the Gulf region, which include repositioning military assets, have had the "desired deterrent effect on the (Iranian) regime's risk calculations". 
  

Saudi Arabia has called for a decisive Arab stand against Iranian threats as King Salman convened a meeting of Arab states that condemned the Islamic republic's alleged interference in the Arab world. The king, addressing an emergency Arab summit in Mecca on Friday, said Riyadh wanted to avoid war and was willing to extend its hand for peace, even as he attacked what he described as Iran's perpetuation of terrorism in the region directly and via proxies.


The Trump administration has delayed new, tougher sanctions on Iran's petrochemical sector, said people familiar with the matter, as it seeks to dial back tensions that have threatened to spiral out of control. The pivot came after heated rhetoric between Washington and Tehran over U.S. accusations that Iran was likely behind the sabotage of Saudi oil tankers, the people said, including a warning last week from President Trump that a war could see the "official end of Iran."

SANCTIONS, BUSINESS RISKS, & OTHER ECONOMIC NEWS  


Countries that haven't yet hit a U.S. limit on imports of Iranian oil can continue the trade without risk of sanctions until they reach the negotiated cap, a senior U.S. official said. The U.S. in November issued waivers for China, India and six other countries to continue importing limited amounts of oil from Iran. But the waivers expired in early May and the administration said no new waivers would be granted, as the Trump administration pursued a pressure campaign against Iran that has heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
  

The U.S. State Department sought to quash speculation that the Trump administration is easing its clampdown on Iranian oil exports after a sanctions waiver program ended May 2, saying there was no softening in the American stance that any country buying Iran's oil would be subject to penalties. A U.S. decision not to renew the six-month waivers allowing limited exports is final and future trade will be subject to sanctions, Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said in a statement to Bloomberg News on Thursday.


Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz accused Iran of threatening global oil supplies and shipping at a meeting of Arab leaders that called on the international community to confront Tehran following attacks on shipping and rising tensions in the oil rich region. Leaders of Gulf and Arab states held two emergency summits in Mecca on Thursday to present a united front to Iran. At the end of the meetings, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit said it was too early to talk of war with Tehran.


The United States will sanction any country which buys oil from Iran after the expiration of waivers on May 2, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said on Thursday.  Sanctions would be imposed "even if a country had not met its previously-negotiated purchase caps," Hook said in a statement. "Our firm policy is to completely zero out purchases of Iranian oil. Period." 


Asia's crude oil imports from Iran jumped to the highest in nine months in April, as buyers
rushed to ship in purchases before their waivers from U.S. sanctions on Iran expired in May, data from government and trade sources showed on Friday. Top buyers China, India, Japan and South Korea imported a total 1.62 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Iran in April, up 3.2% from the previous month to the highest since July, the data showed.


China's CNPC Capital, the financial arm of state energy giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), said on Friday that a unit cited by a U.S. official this week as owning a tanker shipping Iranian oil has no links to the vessel.  The United States earlier this week warned Hong Kong to be on alert for a vessel carrying Iranian oil that might seek to stop in the Asian financial hub, with a senior U.S. official saying any entity providing services to the vessel would be in violation of U.S. sanctions.


The Iranian government is rattling sabers once again, and the Trump administration is rattling back. In years past those tensions would have sent world oil markets into a panic. Not so this time around - at least not yet. And one important reason is the U.S. has become so dominant in crude oil and natural gas production and export. In response to the escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S., some Iranian officials have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz.

MISSILE PROGRAM


Russia has rejected an Iranian request to buy S-400 missile defense systems, concerned that the sale would stoke more tension in the Middle East, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, including a senior Russian official. The request was rebuffed by President Vladimir Putin, the people said on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to discuss the matter. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Moscow May 7.

PROTESTS & HUMAN RIGHTS


Thousands of Iranians rallied Friday to mark Quds, or Jerusalem Day, which will see demonstrations across the Mideast as the Trump administration tries to offer an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan. The annual protests, also being held in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere, come on the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. Iran has marked Quds Day since the start of its 1979 Islamic Revolution by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. 

U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS & NEGOTIATIONS


US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Germany to also ban the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah during his state visit on Friday, saying it should follow the UK's lead. The UK banned Hezbollah early this year, calling it "terrorist organization." Pompeo made his first visit to Germany as secretary of state at the start of a four-nation European trip as tensions rise between the US and Iran.


U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday blamed Iran for attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf, saying it was an effort by Tehran to raise the global price of oil.  "These were efforts by the Iranians to raise the price of crude oil throughout the world," Pompeo told reporters shortly before leaving on a trip to Europe.  He suggested he had seen evidence of Iran's involvement cited earlier on Thursday by White House National Security Adviser John Bolton. 


Tens of thousands of Iranians marking the annual "Quds (Jerusalem) Day" in the Islamic Republic on Friday condemned a planned Middle East peace plan touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as the "deal of the century."  State television said state-sponsored marches were being held in 950 communities across Iran and showed demonstrators carrying banners with slogans such as "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine" and "Death to America."


Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is off to Europe on Thursday to seek support and a potential diplomatic climb-down to ease rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Even as the Trump administration revels in its "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, Pompeo is traveling to Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Britain to assure European leaders that the U.S. is not looking for conflict, press them to do what they can to cool the situation, and perhaps open a channel of communication with the Islamic Republic.


Mike Pompeo is making his first visit to Germany as secretary of state at the start of a four-nation European trip as tensions rise between the U.S. and Iran. Pompeo was set to meet Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday before continuing to Switzerland, which has long represented Washington's interests in Tehran and has in the past been an intermediary between the two.


The threat from Iran is not over but quick action from the United States has helped deter it, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Thursday.  The U.S. military has sent forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East in a move that U.S. officials said was made to counter "clear indications" of threats from Iran to American forces in the region. 


Russia expressed support for Japan's intention to play a role in helping ease tensions between Iran and the United States, an official in Tokyo said on Thursday after a meeting of Japan and Russia's foreign and defense ministers.  On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's help in dealing with Iran, after Japanese broadcaster NHK reported that Abe was considering a trip to Tehran as early as mid-June.  


In his latest speech to an Iranian audience, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw cold water on any possibility of renegotiating the nuclear deal with the United States under the current campaign of pressure from the White House. In response to calls that Iran must "return to the negotiating table," as US national security adviser John Bolton has previously stated, Khamenei said, "Those who say Iran must return to the negotiating table mean that Iran must negotiate with America, because we don't have problems with other countries - and we negotiate with Europeans and others."


Former Obama national security adviser Jim Jones told Hill.TV on Thursday it is a "good thing" that Iranian officials are in the dark about what to expect from President Trump. "The nice thing I like about our policy is that I'm quite sure that the Iranians have no idea what President Trump might do," Jones told hosts Buck Sexton and Jamal Simmons on "Rising." "That in itself is, I think, a good thing." "They're off-balance, and they might wake up one morning and find they no longer have a Navy, for example," he continued. 


Amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has called on tens of Arab and Muslim states represented in three summits in Mecca to confront Iran's interventions in the region, while a senior Saudi official says Riyadh does not want a war with Iran. In the meantime, Iran has ruled out accusations about intervention in the affairs of regional counties.


Maritime security experts say there was likely here less than four kilograms of explosives in the limpet mine that tore open a gash in the stern of Norwegian oil tanker "Andrea Victory" as she lay at anchor off the United Arab Emirates on May 12. As with additional attacks against three other vessels and two major oil pipeline facilities here in nearby Saudi Arabia, there was little chance of the attacks causing catastrophic damage or disrupting the world's supply of oil. 

MILITARY/INTELLIGENCE MATTERS & PROXY WARS


So where is the Qaher F-313? It was spotted only once after its initial debut in November 2013 being prepped for taxi tests-but it has never been seen again. It's likely the unimpressive mockup is sitting in the warehouse somewhere in Iran, or has been recycled for some other theatrical production. Several years back, Iran rolled out its Qaher F-313 'stealth fighter' in front of then President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

IRANIAN INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS


A bizarre scandal rocked Iran this week. Former Tehran mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi shot and killed his wife, Mitra Ostad. But it's how authorities and the state media have handled the crime that has Iranians outraged. While cases of gun violence in Iran are extremely rare, domestic violence has been a fact of life for Iranian women throughout history. The high-profile killing is shocking on its own merits.

Javad is a 30-year-old architect and photographer in Iran. Born to an Iranian mother and an Afghan father in Iran, he has not yet been granted Iranian citizenship due to the country's nationality law, which only gives children of Iranian fathers automatic citizenship. As a result, Javad has faced plenty of hurdles and has been deprived of many services, including four years of primary school, insurance and a driver's license. He also faces the annual extension of his father's legal residence in Iran. 


Iranian state broadcasters should replace female presenters with men, Iran's ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). Alamolhoda is the representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the country's Khorasan Razavi province. He is widely believed to be a conservative hardliner and has been in the headlines for making such statements in the past.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH, LEBANON & IRAN


Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on Thursday thanked Iran for providing his terror group the rockets it used to strike deep into Israel and warned the Jewish state that Tel Aviv would be struck again in response to any offensive against the Gaza Strip. "Iran provided us with rockets, and we surprised the world when our resistance targeted Beersheba," Sinwar said in a live TV address, referring to the weekend of violence at the beginning of the month, during which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired nearly 700 rockets at Israel.


Russia dispatched one of its leading diplomats to Tehran this week to urge the Iranians to back off their threat to resume certain nuclear activities in retaliation for the US "maximum pressure" campaign. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov sat down for "a square talk" with his counterpart Abbas Araghchi, the Russian foreign minister said in a statement after the meeting. The Russian envoy sought to dissuade the Iranians from leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty or following the Donald Trump administration in exiting the 2015 nuclear deal.


A trilateral Israeli, US and Russian meeting of national security advisers is scheduled to take place in Israel in June to deal with regional security issues, and is expected to focus on Iran's involvement in Syria. On Wednesday night, just before the Knesset decided to dissolve itself, the White House issued a statement saying that US National Security Adviser John Bolton, Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Russian Secretary of the Security Council Nikolay Patrushev will meet in Jerusalem in June "to discuss regional security issues."

GULF STATES, YEMEN, & IRAN


"We have been consistent in our messaging," Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Senior Policy Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters on May 30. "Iran should show more of an interest in talks than threats and we have seen on an almost daily basis from the Iranian regime that they will not talk with the United States."


An exhibition held on Thursday on the premises of Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz International Airport showcased missiles, unarmed aerial vehicles (UAVs), boats and other equipment used by the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen to target Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency reported.


Saudi Arabia's king has accused the kingdom's key rival, Iran, of developing nuclear and ballistic missiles which threaten regional and global stability, telling regional leaders that action is needed to stop Iranian "escalations" following a series of attacks on oil assets in the Gulf.


Iran bears responsibility for recent drone attacks carried out by Houthi rebels on targets in Saudi Arabia, John Bolton, President Trump's national security adviser, said Thursday. "The Houthi capability in drones and missiles, all supplied by Iran, is a real threat to peace and security in the region," Mr. Bolton told reporters in London.


Saudi Arabia's King Salman opened an emergency summit of Arab leaders in Islam's holiest city of Mecca on Friday with a call for the international community to use all means to confront Iran, but he also said the kingdom remains committed to peace. King Salman delivered his remarks at Arab summits in Mecca that were hastily convened after a spike in tensions between Saudi Arabia and its rival Iran.


Saudi Arabia's King Salman told an emergency Gulf Arab meeting on Thursday that Iran's development of nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities threatened regional and global security.  He said Tehran's actions threatened international maritime trade and global oil supplies in a "glaring violation of U.N. treaties", following attacks this month on oil tankers off the United Arab Emirates and on oil pumping stations in the kingdom.


Iran's foreign ministry has rejected accusations it says were made at an ongoing summit of Muslim countries, after regional rival Saudi Arabia said Iran's behavior threatens regional stability and security. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency cited a foreign ministry spokesman as saying Friday that the accusations were part of an ongoing program against Iran being pursued by the United States and Israel.


Evidence that Iran has been behind recent attacks on oil tankers and pipelines in the Gulf is likely to be presented to the UN Security Council as early as next week, John Bolton, the US national security adviser, has revealed. Bolton has previously said Iran was almost certainly responsible for the attacks, but without presenting evidence.

CYBERWARFARE


A private cybersecurity firm, FireEye Threat Intelligence, recently announced that they had identified a network of English-language social-media accounts that engaged in inauthentic behavior and misrepresentation and that "we assess with low confidence was organized in support of Iranian political interests." This is the second group of social media accounts identified by FireEye as part of an Iranian propaganda or disinformation campaign.






Eye on Iran is a periodic news summary from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) a program of the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc., a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Eye on Iran is not intended as a comprehensive media clips summary but rather a selection of media elements with discreet analysis in a PDA friendly format. For more information please email press@uani.com.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a non-partisan, broad-based coalition that is united in a commitment to prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power possessing nuclear weapons.  UANI is an issue-based coalition in which each coalition member will have its own interests as well as the collective goal of advancing an Iran free of nuclear weapons.