Swedish police use a bomb-disposal robot at a shooting scene near an Israeli target, which the national broadcaster said was a unit of Israeli company Elbit Systems, in Gothenburg, Sweden, Oct. 10, 2024. Photo: TT News Agency/Adam Ihse via REUTERS

Three teenagers were convicted in Sweden on Monday of being involved in a shooting attack on an office of Israeli defense contractor Elbit Systems in Gothenburg last year.

A fourth boy, who was accused of actually carrying out the attack by opening fire at the entrance to the building in October, was 13 at the time – too young for him to stand trial under Swedish law.

No one was injured in the shooting. The verdict did not mention any motive for the attack.

One boy who was 15 at the time was found guilty of instigating attempted murder and sentenced to 20 months of juvenile detention, the Gothenburg District Court said in its verdict.

The court said he had persuaded the perpetrator to shoot, knowing there was a considerable risk someone could be killed. The boy’s lawyer declined to comment on the verdict.

The two other teenage defendants were acquitted of being accessory to attempted murder but were found guilty of the lesser charges of being accessory to threats and weapons crime and of involving an underage person.

Swedish police in May last year said they had stepped up security around Israeli and Jewish interests in the Nordic country after officers on patrol heard suspected gunshots near Israel’s embassy in Stockholm.

Sweden has seen an epidemic of gun violence in recent years, primarily driven by criminal gangs. The country’s minimum age for criminal responsibility is 15.

The post Three Teens Convicted in Sweden Over Shooting Attack on Israeli Defense Firm first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between US and Iran, Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Iran has proposed meeting the European parties to a 2015 nuclear deal possibly in Rome this Friday if talks resume with the United States, four diplomats said on Monday, cautioning that there has yet to be a response from the Europeans to the idea.

Iran is looking to build on the momentum of nuclear negotiations with the United States that resumed in Oman on Saturday and after talks with Russia and China last week.

Omani officials have said a new round of US-Iran talks could be held on May 3 in Europe. No formal decision has been taken.

Iran‘s reach out to Britain, France, and Germany, known as the E3, suggests Tehran is keeping its options open, but also wants to assess where the Europeans stand on the possible re-imposition of UN sanctions before October, when a resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires.

Two E3 diplomats and a Western diplomat said Iran had communicated after last Saturday’s talks with the United States a proposal to meet possibly in Rome on Friday.

Should that not be possible, the Iranians also suggested discussions in Tehran before that date, the diplomats said.

The second round of negotiations between Washington and Tehran took place in Rome with Iran saying serious differences remained.

An Iranian official confirmed the proposal, but said the E3 had not responded so far.

The European and Western diplomats said the E3 were assessing whether it was in their interest to meet Iran now or wait to see how talks with Washington developed, but ruled out a meeting in Tehran.

“It is important to remain on the same page with all parties to the 2015 deal. Therefore, meeting the E3 countries this week ahead of the next round of talks with Americans would be useful,” said the Iranian official.

UN SANCTIONS DEADLINE

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday he was ready to travel to Europe for talks, although he suggested that the ball was in Europe’s court after ties had soured between the two sides.

Since September, Tehran and the three European powers have met several times to discuss their ties and the nuclear issue.

The most recent meeting in March was held at the technical level, looking at the parameters of a future deal to secure a rollback of Iran‘s nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.

Trump, who abandoned the 2015 pact between Tehran and world powers during his first term in 2018, has threatened to attack Iran unless it reaches a new deal swiftly that would prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

The West suspects Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, which it denies. The threat of renewed sanctions is intended to pressure Tehran into concessions, making detailed discussions on strategy between the Americans and Europeans vital, diplomats say.

Because the United States quit the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, it cannot initiate its mechanism for reimposing sanctions, called snapback, at the United Nations Security Council.

That makes the E3 the only participants in the deal who are capable of and interested in pursuing snapback.

When asked whether the proposal to meet Europeans was about snapback, the Iranian official indicated that was partly the aim.

“Talks with the US, particularly on the nuclear steps, are not moving fast and obviously we need more time, and Tehran is not much in favor of an interim deal, because of lack of trust to American side,” the official said.

“What if under an interim deal, we fulfil our step, and the other party does not. We need Europeans to understand that we want a new deal, and we are ready to take steps to limit our enrichment. But we need time.”

The British and German foreign ministries declined to comment specifically on whether Iran had proposed a meeting for later this week. France’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond for comment.

The post Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

University Hall at Ohio State University. Photo: OZinOH/Flickr

While the Midwest is known for its “Midwest Nice” reputation, on college campuses, pro-Palestinian student groups in the region have used that hospitality to justify open support for terrorist groups and violence against Jews in the Middle East.

In doing so, these groups blur the line between activism and extremism, raising serious questions about their true agenda in our now vulnerable academic institutions.

Take, for example, the recent release of Agam Berger, an Israeli civilian who was held captive by Hamas for 482 days.

Instead of celebrating her survival and release, the group “United With Milwaukee Popular University for Palestine (UWM PUP)”  posted an image comparing her being embraced by other former hostages against a faceless, malnourished (assumed to be a Palestinian) man, with the caption: “Difference in treatment between Palestinian hostages held by the genocidal entity vs. Israeli hostages held in Gaza.”

What they’re saying is that Hamas treats the hostages they brutally kidnapped on Oct. 7 with dignity, while Israel abuses its prisoners.

This narrative not only ignores the fact that hostages held by Hamas endured torture, starvation, and sexual violence while the overwhelming majority of Palestinians incarcerated in Israel are treated by Western prison standards — but completely ignores that Palestinians are in Israeli jails because they have been convicted of crimes — often violent ones — while the hostages were illegally stolen by Hamas.

In fact, conditions in Israeli prisons are such that at least one Palestinian prisoner recently slated for release actually begged Israel to keep him rather than return to relative freedom under Hamas in Gaza.

By casting Hamas as more humane than a democratic state, these “pro-Palestinian” groups engage in a false moral equivalence that legitimizes terrorism and dehumanizes Israeli victims.

In St. Louis, a community group active but not affiliated with students on local campuses, Voices of Palestine Network, shared a video with  the caption: “Don’t let the killer become the victim.” They claimed to reveal the “truth” about the Israeli hostages’ lack of innocence, as if such context could justify the crimes against humanity committed on October 7 and afterwards.

Eastern Iowa Jewish Voices for Palestine and Ohio State University Jews for Justice in Palestine shared similar posts claiming that Western media have not covered Israel’s actions, which is just plain wrong. Even prestigious private schools are suffering from this kind of hateful bullying. Northwestern University was just defaced with antisemitic graffiti that included statements such as, “Death to Israel” and “Intifada now!”

Many students, faculty, and administrators may believe that this rhetoric — however inflammatory — is merely speech and not action.

But across the country, we’ve already seen how inflammatory expression can evolve into extremely toxic behavior — harassment, bullying, social exclusion, violent attacks, and fear — especially when targeting the minority of students who are visibly Jewish or openly pro-Israel.

When this kind of intimidation replaces discussion, students begin self-censoring to avoid backlash and the foundation of academic freedom erodes.

It is time for universities, student governments, and community leaders across the Midwest to draw a clear moral line between upholding free speech and implicit endorsements of bigoted threats against the Jewish and pro-Israel communities. Administrators must publicly condemn the glorification of terror and demand accountability from groups that harass and intimidate their peers.

Campus spaces are meant for students to wrestle with ideas. But how can that happen when a minority of bullies exploit that freedom to suppress the speech of others?

 The choice is simple. Speak out now or allow antisemitic and anti-American radicalization to take root under the guise of activism.

The post Midwest Campus Groups Use ‘Pro-Palestinian’ Label as a Way to Attack Jews and Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.