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Targeting Iran’s Agents of Influence
Funeral ceremony for former Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine, outskirts of Beirut, Feb. 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani
JNS.org – The sight of Israeli fighter jets flying low and loud over the funeral in Beirut last month of the eliminated Hezbollah terrorist chieftain Hassan Nasrallah was certainly gratifying. But I’ll wager that I’m not the only observer who wishes that the Israeli pilots had actually dropped a few bombs on the whole wretched spectacle.
Among the thousands of Hezbollah supporters in attendance were a few dozen activists from Western countries, some of whom were questioned by their respective police forces upon their return. According to a list compiled by the Middle East Media Research Institute, their number included Canadian passport holders Charlotte Kates and Khaled Barakat of the now-proscribed terrorist organization Samidoun, which raises support for the motley crew of Palestinian rapists and murderers held in Israeli jails; Irish activists Tadhg Hickey and Tara O’Grady, two leading lights of their country’s influential antisemitic, pro-Hamas lobby; and the heads of the ultra-Stalinist, deeply antisemitic American Communist Party in the form of Jackson Hinkle and Christopher Helali.
Since Israel demurred from getting rid of these people when it had the chance (perhaps prudently), it falls to law-enforcement agencies in their own countries to deal with them. And by that, I mean isolating them completely from the public square and, if necessary, imprisoning them as accessories of a terrorist organization whose bloody global imprint extends from Bulgaria to Argentina to other lands where Hezbollah has carried out violent attacks at the behest of its Iranian paymasters.
I want to focus on the British presence at Nasrallah’s funeral because last week the British government unveiled an important new measure to combat Iranian influence. While the measure regrettably falls short of classifying the Tehran regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, it does elevate Iran and its British assets to the highest tier of the UK’s Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. Anyone acting on Iran’s behalf will be deemed a security threat and therefore obliged to register with the scheme. Failure to do so will incur a prison sentence of up to five years.
That brings into the frame some of the worst enemies of the British Jewish community, like the former Parliament members George Galloway and Chris Williamson. Having been turfed out of the ruling Labour Party, the two men now lead what is functionally a national socialist organization calling itself the Workers Party of Britain. Both are regular contributors to the Iranian state propaganda outlet Press TV—a wholly owned subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB)—where Williamson anchors a sinister discussion show pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories titled “Palestine Declassified.”
His sidekick on the show is a failed Scottish academic named David Miller, who was fired from the University of Bristol over his continued harassment of Jewish students. It’s easy to dismiss Miller as the clown who sent the distinguished historian Simon Sebag-Montefiore, the author of a recent book on Jerusalem, a page from Wikipedia intended to counter his argument about Jewish indigeneity, accompanied by an “Aha! Gotcha!” post on X. Sadly, there are those who take Miller seriously and listen to his arguments, which become more screechingly antisemitic with every post, every broadcast appearance and every article.
One of Miller’s obsessions is the contention that Jewish anti-Zionists are really Zionists. He asks preposterously, “[H]ow many Jewish martyrs have there been in the past 140 on the path to liberate Palestine from Zionism? How many Jews have engaged in military action against Zionist targets in that period?” Another is his repeated characterization of the Chabad-Lubavitch religious movement, which is regarded with affection by observant and non-observant Jews alike, as a “genocidal cult.” Moreover, Miller’s adoration of the Palestinians and their murderous cause is mirrored by his contempt for genuinely persecuted populations, like the Kurds, whom he denies constitute a nationality, and the Ukrainians, whose plight under constant Russian bombardment elicits a teenage cheerleader’s enthusiasm from him.
Miller also attended Nasrallah’s funeral, posing as a “journalist,” and was duly questioned by the British police on his return from Beirut. His actual reportage was limited to fawning posts on X and appearances on Press TV because it’s pretty much the only broadcaster willing to platform his ravings.
The new rules in the United Kingdom will, it is to be hoped, remove the veneer of “independence” shrouding Miller and his co-thinkers—who include Asa Winstanley, an antisemitic propagandist for the U.S. outlet “Electronic Intifada”—and reveal them for what they are: assets of the Iranian mullahs. They also provide a road map for further moves to curb both Iran’s propaganda agents and hired thugs, like the two Romanians who one year ago stabbed an Iranian opposition journalist outside his home in London, who carry out the regime’s orders on foreign soil.
But if any of that is to happen, then the British government must follow through on enforcement. If Miller fails to register as an Iranian agent, then he should be arrested and charged accordingly. Even without incarceration, there is a case to be made for shuttering his channels of communication, such as his website and his social-media presence, with the outside world. Free speech does not extend to treason and never has, including in the United States, where the First Amendment affords protections that don’t exist in Europe. Nor does it include incitement to violence. When Miller talks about “liquidating” or “dismantling” Zionism, as he does frequently, one has to remember that his Iranian sponsors regard that phrase as a license for terrorist actions against Jewish targets around the world.
Ultimately, the United Kingdom has to decide whether it will tolerate Iranian state media outlets exploiting their presence as “journalists” to spread misinformation and propaganda on behalf of Tehran. Press TV operated a London office for nearly 15 years before dissolving as a limited company under British law in 2021, according to the country’s own records. Yet it still operates a studio there, where Williamson and Miller record their programming. Press TV’s broadcasts are still available on some cable networks or through an app that can be freely downloaded. As an enemy broadcaster and one designated by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Press TV should be blocked online and removed from all social-media platforms, including X, which is owned by the same individual, Elon Musk, tasked with flushing out the U.S. government’s bureaucracy.
Such inconsistencies are harmful to us and readily exploited by them. As we deliberate whether we are technically at war with Iran, Iran eagerly wages war on us through its media channels, its regional proxies, and through—as the two aerial attacks on Israel last year demonstrated—its own armed forces. Our response must be sharp and merciless at all levels.
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UK, France, Germany Urge Gaza Ceasefire, Ask Israel to Restore Humanitarian Access
People walk among destroyed buildings in Gaza, as viewed from the Israel-Gaza border, March 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
The governments of Germany, France and Britain called for an immediate return to a ceasefire in Gaza in a joint statement on Friday that also called on Israel to restore humanitarian access.
“We call on Israel to restore humanitarian access, including water and electricity, and ensure access to medical care and temporary medical evacuations in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the foreign ministers of the three countries, known as the E3, said in a statement.
The ministers said they were “appalled by the civilian casualties,” and also called on Palestinian Hamas terrorists to release Israeli hostages.
They said the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians could not be resolved through military means, and that a long-lasting ceasefire was the only credible pathway to peace.
The ministers added that they were “deeply shocked” by the incident that affected the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) building in Gaza, and called for an investigation into the incident.
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Israeli Military Says It Intercepted Missile Fired from Yemen; Houthis Claim Responsibility
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
The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday, one day after shooting down two projectiles launched by Houthi terrorists.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement in the early hours of Saturday.
Saree said the attack against Israel was the group’s third in 48 hours.
He issued a warning to airlines that the Israeli airport was “no longer safe for air travel and would continue to be so until the Israeli aggression against Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
However, the airport’s website seemed to be operating normally and showed a list of scheduled flights.
The group’s military spokesman has also said without providing evidence that the Houthis had launched attacks against the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.
The group recently vowed to escalate attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to US strikes earlier this month, which amount to the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 50 people.
The Houthis’ fresh attacks come under a pledge to expand their range of targets in Israel in retaliation for renewed Israeli strikes in Gaza that have killed hundreds after weeks of relative calm.
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been dubbed the “Axis of Resistance” – an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.
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Columbia University Agrees to Some Trump Demands in Attempt to Restore Funding
A pro-Palestine protester holds a sign that reads: “Faculty for justice in Palestine” during a protest urging Columbia University to cut ties with Israel. November 15, 2023 in New York City. Photo: Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Columbia University agreed to some changes demanded by US President Donald Trump’s administration before it can negotiate to regain federal funding that was pulled this month over allegations the school tolerated antisemitism on campus.
The Ivy League university in New York City acquiesced to several demands in a 4,000-word message from its interim president released on Friday. It laid out plans to reform its disciplinary process, hire security officers with arrest powers and appoint a new official with a broad remit to review departments that offer courses on the Middle East.
Columbia’s dramatic concessions to the government’s extraordinary demands, which stem from protests that convulsed the Manhattan campus over the Israel-Gaza war, immediately prompted criticism. The outcome could have broad ramifications as the Trump administration has warned at least 60 other universities of similar action.
What Columbia would do with its Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies department was among the biggest questions facing the university as it confronted the cancellation, called unconstitutional by legal and civil groups, of hundreds of millions of dollars in government grants and contracts. The Trump administration had told the school to place the department under academic receivership for at least five years, taking control away from its faculty.
Academic receivership is a rare step taken by a university’s administrators to fix a dysfunctional department by appointing a professor or administrator outside the department to take over.
Columbia did not refer to receivership in Friday’s message. The university said it would appoint a new senior administrator to review leadership and to ensure programs are balanced at MESAAS, the Middle East Institute, the Center for Palestine Studies, the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies and other departments with Middle East programs, along with Columbia’s satellite hubs in Tel Aviv and Amman.
‘TERRIBLE PRECEDENT’
Professor Jonathan Zimmerman, a historian of education at the University of Pennsylvania and a “proud” graduate of Columbia, called it a sad day for the university.
“Historically, there is no precedent for this,” Zimmerman said. “The government is using the money as a cudgel to micromanage a university.”
Todd Wolfson, a Rutgers University professor and president of the American Association of University Professors, called the Trump administration’s demands “arguably the greatest incursion into academic freedom, freedom of speech and institutional autonomy that we’ve seen since the McCarthy era.”
“It sets a terrible precedent,” Wolfson said. “I know every academic faculty member in this country is angry about Columbia University’s inability to stand up to a bully.”
In a campus-wide email, Katrina Armstrong, Columbia’s interim president, wrote that the her priorities were “to advance our mission, ensure uninterrupted academic activities, and make every student, faculty, and staff member safe and welcome on our campus.”
Mohammad Hemeida, an undergraduate who chairs Columbia’s Student Governing Board, said the school should have sought more student and faculty input.
“It’s incredibly disappointing Columbia gave in to government pressure instead of standing firm on the commitments to students and to academic freedom, which they emphasized to us in almost daily emails,” he said.
The White House did not respond to Columbia’s memo on Friday. The Trump administration said its demands, laid out in a letter to Armstrong eight days ago, were a precondition before Columbia could enter “formal negotiations” with the government to have federal funding.
ARREST POWERS
Columbia’s response is being watched by other universities that the administration has targeted as it advances its policy objectives in areas ranging from campus protests to transgender sports and diversity initiatives.
Private companies, law firms and other organizations have also faced threatened cuts in government funding and business unless they agree to adhere more closely to Trump’s priorities. Powerful Wall Street law firm Paul Weiss came under heavy criticism on Friday over a deal it struck with the White House to escape an executive order imperiling its business.
Columbia has come under particular scrutiny for the anti-Israel student protest movement that roiled its campus last year, when its lawns filled with tent encampments and noisy rallies against the US government’s support of the Jewish state.
To some of the Trump administration’s demands, such as having “time, place and manner” rules around protests, the school suggested they had already been met.
Columbia said it had already sought to hire peace officers with arrest powers before the Trump administration’s demand last week, saying 36 new officers had nearly completed the lengthy training and certification process under New York law.
The university said no one was allowed to wear face masks on campus if they were doing so intending to break rules or laws. The ban does not apply to face masks worn for medical or religious purposes, and the university did not say it was adopting the Trump administration’s demand that Columbia ID be worn visibly on clothing.
The sudden shutdown of millions of dollars in federal funding to Columbia this month was already disrupting medical and scientific research at the school, researchers said.
Canceled projects included the development of an AI-based tool that helps nurses detect the deterioration of a patient’s health in hospital and research on uterine fibroids, non-cancerous tumors that can cause pain and affect women’s fertility.
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