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Iran Is Destabilizing the Red Sea; the World Must Act
FILE PHOTO: Houthi military helicopter flies over the Galaxy Leader cargo ship in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Photo: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
In the complex geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, the Red Sea has emerged as a critical arena of strategic competition, with Iran’s actions at the center of regional tensions. Tehran’s involvement, mainly through its backing of the Houthi rebels in Yemen, has raised significant concerns about regional stability and security.
Iran’s strategic maneuvering in the Red Sea, a critical maritime corridor, reflects its broader ambition to assert dominance in the Middle East and challenge key regional players, notably Israel and the United States. This ambition is further bolstered by Iran’s alliance with Russia, creating a complex geopolitical landscape. Central to Iran’s strategy is the protection and expansion of its transnational terrorist network, facilitated by the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Quds Force. This force, known for its covert operations, plays a pivotal role in extending Iran’s influence across the region, and poses a multifaceted threat to regional stability and security.
Iran’s engagement in the Red Sea serves multiple strategic objectives. Primarily, it allows Iran to project power far beyond its borders, challenging its regional rivals, especially Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in their backyard. By supporting the Houthis in Yemen, Iran gains a foothold along a critical maritime chokepoint, the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, through which a significant portion of the world’s maritime trade, including oil shipments, passes. This positioning enables Iran to exert influence over a vital artery of global trade, thereby enhancing its regional and international leverage.
Iran’s support for the Houthi movement in Yemen is a critical element of its strategy in the Red Sea. This support has evolved from ideological and political backing to military and logistical assistance. Iran is believed to provide the Houthis with sophisticated weaponry, including ballistic missiles and drones, which have been used to target Saudi Arabia and threaten maritime security in the Red Sea. This proxy warfare approach allows Iran to confront its regional adversaries indirectly, thus minimizing the risks and costs of direct engagement.
The Red Sea is a vital artery for global trade, with significant volumes of oil and commercial goods transiting through it daily. Iran’s activities, particularly the Houthi attacks on shipping lanes, pose a direct threat to the safety and security of this critical waterway. Such actions can disrupt global trade flows, leading to significant economic repercussions worldwide. Moreover, they raise the risk of a broader regional conflict that could have far-reaching implications for global energy markets and international security.
Iran’s maneuvers in the Red Sea have elicited strong responses from regional powers. Saudi Arabia, directly affected by the Houthi insurgency, has led a military coalition against the rebels in Yemen, seeking to counter Iranian influence and restore stability in its southern neighbor. Egypt, another key regional actor, views the security of the Red Sea as a national priority, given its economic dependence on the Suez Canal. Cairo has thus been wary of Tehran’s growing presence in the area and has taken steps to bolster its military capabilities in the region.
The strategic importance of the Red Sea extends beyond the Middle East, drawing the attention of global powers such as the United States, Russia, and China. The US, with its longstanding commitment to ensuring freedom of navigation in international waterways, has been particularly concerned about Iran’s actions. Washington’s response has included naval deployments to the region and support for Saudi Arabia’s efforts against the Houthis. Meanwhile, Russia and China, seeking to expand their influence in the Middle East, closely monitor the situation, balancing their strategic interests with their respective relationships with Iran and the Arab states.
Israel’s security concerns are deeply intertwined with the situation in the Red Sea. Iran’s support for the Houthis and its attempts to establish a foothold in Yemen are perceived by Israel as direct threats to its security. Tel Aviv is particularly concerned about the possibility of Iran opening a new front against it in the Red Sea, complementing its existing threats from Lebanon and Syria. Israel’s strategy in response has involved strengthening its naval capabilities and seeking closer cooperation with Sunni Arab states, particularly those concerned about Iran’s regional ambitions.
Israel, acutely aware of the strategic implications of Iran’s expanding influence in the Red Sea, perceives these maneuvers as an extension of existing threats from Lebanon and Syria. The involvement of the IRGC Quds Force, a unit specializing in extraterritorial operations, signals a potential opening of a new front against Israel. This development is particularly concerning for Israeli security, given the proximity of the Red Sea to its southern borders and the critical maritime routes essential for its trade and military logistics. Israel’s response to these challenges is multifaceted, involving heightened security measures and strategic collaborations with regional allies, underlining the gravity of the threat posed by Iran’s actions in the Red Sea.
The Red Sea region’s strategic significance cannot be overstated, serving as a nexus where regional rivalries intersect with global power dynamics. The competition between Iran and its regional adversaries in the Red Sea is part of a larger struggle for dominance in the Middle East involving sectarian, political, and strategic dimensions. This rivalry is further complicated by the interests and actions of global powers, each vying for influence in a region critical to global energy supplies and trade.
In conclusion, Iran’s actions in the Red Sea represent a significant challenge to regional stability and global maritime security. The strategic importance of this vital waterway, coupled with Iran’s support for the Houthi rebels and its broader regional ambitions, creates a complex geopolitical puzzle. The involvement of regional powers, each with their strategic interests and the interest of global actors, adds layers to this complexity. It is imperative for the international community to closely monitor and address the multifaceted challenges posed by Iran in the Red Sea, as the repercussions of these activities extend far beyond the region, impacting international trade routes and global security dynamics. Resolving these tensions requires a nuanced, collaborative approach that balances regional aspirations with global security needs.
Erfan Fard is a counterterrorism analyst and Middle East Studies researcher based in Washington, DC. Twitter@EQFARD
The post Iran Is Destabilizing the Red Sea; the World Must Act first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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A pro-Israel rally at the University of Toronto was headlined by Columbia University professor Shai Davidai
Around 200 people gathered for a pro-Israel demonstration at University of Toronto’s downtown campus at King’s College Circle—which was the site of one of Canada’s largest pro-Palestinian encampments during May […]
The post A pro-Israel rally at the University of Toronto was headlined by Columbia University professor Shai Davidai appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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‘Not Welcome’: New Pro-Hamas Campaign Aims to Abolish Hillel Campus Chapters
A statue of George Washington tied with a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh inside a pro-Hamas encampment is pictured at George Washington University in Washington, DC, US, May 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Craig Hudson
The campus group National Students for Justice in Palestine (NSJP) is waging a campaign to gut Jewish life in academia, calling for the abolition of Hillel International campus chapters, the largest collegiate organization for Jewish students in the world.
“Over the past several decades, Hillel has monopolized for Jewish campus life into a pipeline for pro-Israel indoctrination, genocide-apologia, and material support to the Zionist project and its crimes,” a social media account operating the campaign, titled #DropHillel, said in a manifesto published last week. “Across the country, Hillel chapters have invited Israeli soldiers to their campuses; promoted propaganda trips such as birthright; and organized charity drives for the Israeli military.”
It continued, “Such actions reveal Hillel’s ideological and material investment in Zionism, despite the organization’s facade as being simply a ‘Jewish cultural space.’”
DropHillel claims to be “Jewish-led,” although only a small minority of Jews oppose Zionism, and the group has been linked to and promoted by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters.
Hillel International has provided Jewish students a home away from home during the academic year. However, NSJP says it wants to “weaken” it and “dismantle oppression.”
The idea has already been picked up by pro-Hamas student groups at one college, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to The Daily Tar Heel, the school’s official student newspaper. On Oct. 9, it reported, a member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) unveiled the idea for “no more Hillel” during a rally which, among other things, demanded removing Israel from UNC’s study abroad program and adopting the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. Addressing the comments to the paper days later, SJP, which has been linked to Islamist terrorist organizations, proclaimed that shuttering Hillel is a coveted goal of the anti-Zionist movement.
“Zionism is a racist supremacist ideology advocating for the creation and sustenance of an ethnostate through the expulsion and annihilation of native people,” the group told the paper. “Therefore, any group that advocates for a supremacist ideology — be it the KKK, the Proud Boys, Hillel, or Heels for Israel — should not be welcome on campus.”
The #DropHillel campaign came amid an unprecedented surge in anti-Israel incidents on college campuses, which, according to a report published last month by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), have reached crisis levels.
Revealing a “staggering” 477 percent increase in anti-Zionist activity involving assault, vandalism, and other phenomena, the report — titled “Anti-Israel Activism on US Campuses, 2023-2024” — painted a bleak picture of America’s higher education system poisoned by political extremism and hate.
“As the year progressed, Jewish students and Jewish groups on campus came under unrelenting scrutiny for any association, actual or perceived, with Israel or Zionism,” the report said. “This often led to the harassment of Jewish members of campus communities and vandalism of Jewish institutions. In some cases, it led to assault. These developments were underpinned by a steady stream of rhetoric from anti-Israel activists expressing explicit support for US-designated terrorists organizations, such as Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and others.”
The report added that 10 campuses accounted for 16 percent of all incidents tracked by ADL researchers, with Columbia University and the University of Michigan combining for 90 anti-Israel incidents — 52 and 38, respectively. Harvard University, the University of California – Los Angeles, Rutgers University New Brunswick, Stanford University, Cornell University, and others filled out the rest of the top 10. Violence, it continued, was most common at universities in the state of California, where anti-Zionist activists punched a Jewish student for filming him at a protest.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post ‘Not Welcome’: New Pro-Hamas Campaign Aims to Abolish Hillel Campus Chapters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Muslim for Trump’ Launches Initiatives in Key Battleground States, Says Candidate Will Bring ‘Peace’ to Gaza
Former US President Donald Trump is seen at a campaign event in South Carolina. Photo: Reuters/Sam Wolfe
The “Muslims for Trump” organization has officially launched initiatives to help elect Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to the White House, arguing that he would be more likely to end the war in Gaza than Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
In a statement released on Monday, the group said it will focus on recruiting Muslim voters in key battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina. The organization both praised Trump for his supposed “peace-focused” approach to ending the war in Gaza and condemned Harris for helping facilitate a so-called “genocide.”
“After meeting with President Trump, it was clear to me he is the right leader for Muslims to get behind,” Rabiul Chowdhury, co-founder of Muslims for Trump and former co-chair of the “Abandon Harris Movement,” said in a statement.
Chowdhury added that during his discussions with Trump, the former president vowed to “ending the escalation of wars and bringing peace to war-torn regions.” In contrast to Trump’s promise to stop the “bloodshed” in Gaza, he claimed, Harris has “recklessly pushed us toward World War III.”
Chowdhury, a self-described “peace advocate,” urged the Muslim community not to fall victim to supposed “misinformation” campaigns by the media and Democrats that paint the former president as hostile to immigrants. He claimed that the former president’s focus is on “ending war, not dividing families through false immigration claims.”
Samra Luqman, chair of the Michigan chapter of Muslims for Trump, underscored the need to punish the Biden administration for what he described as supporting a “genocide” in Gaza.
“The goal of this election is to hold the Biden administration accountable for a genocide. No amount of fear mongering or scare tactics will persuade my community into forgiving the mutilation, live-burning, and genocide of over 200,000 people,” he said.
According to data produced by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, roughly 40,000 people have died in Gaza since the war began last October. Israel has said that its forces have killed about 20,000 Hamas terrorists during its military campaign.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication.
On the organization Muslims for Trump’s official website, it claims that the Abraham Accords, a series of historic, Trump administration-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and several countries in the Arab world, helped stabilize the Middle East. It also says that had Trump not lost the 2020 presidential race, the so-called “genocide” could have been prevented.
“Under Trump’s leadership, the Abraham Accords were brokered, fostering peaceful relations between Israel and several Arab countries. Supporters might argue that Trump’s diplomacy prioritized peace and stability in the Middle East, reducing the likelihood of large-scale conflicts like genocide,” the group wrote.
Over the course of his campaign, Trump has repeatedly touted his support for the Jewish state during his singular term in office. Trump has boasted about his administration’s work in fostering the Abraham Accords, promising to resume efforts to strengthen them if he were to win November’s US presidential election.
Harsh US sanctions levied on Iran under Trump crippled the Iranian economy and led its foreign exchange reserves to plummet. Trump and his Republican supporters in the US Congress have criticized the Biden administration for renewing billions of dollars in US sanctions waivers, which had the effect of unlocking frozen funds and allowing the country to access previously inaccessible hard currency.
Trump also recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic region on Israel’s northern border previously controlled by Syria, and also moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as the Jewish state’s capital.
Despite Harris’s repeated efforts to woo Muslim voters, polling data indicates that the demographic has made a dramatic swing away from the Democratic Party. Polling data from the Arab American Institute reveals that Trump slightly edges Harris among Muslim voters by a margin of 42 to 41 percent. A report from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) shows that Green Party candidate Jill Stein leads Harris and Trump with Muslim voters in the key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
The post ‘Muslim for Trump’ Launches Initiatives in Key Battleground States, Says Candidate Will Bring ‘Peace’ to Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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