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The FBI’s Counterterrorism Operations Against Iran’s Terrorist Sleeper Cells
John Bolton. Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons.
JNS.org – The invisible but alarming threat of Iranian terrorist sleeper cells in the United States has become a major concern for the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Most notoriously, the Iranian regime has sought to target former President Donald Trump and individuals close to him, including former U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Advisor John Bolton and former CIA Director Gina Haspel.
The Iranian regime is ruthlessly seeking revenge for the Trump-ordered execution of terror kingpin and head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force Qassem Soleimani. As a result, the FBI closely monitors charities, religious centers, schools and medical centers linked to Tehran.
The use of terror to get its way is par for the course for Iran. The regime’s Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS, in Persian VAJA) has a dark legacy of silencing opposition through assassination. Hundreds of victims have been killed both in Iran itself and abroad.
This long history of both thwarted plots and grim successes, especially against Israeli interests, is part of a broader strategy of Iranian intimidation that transcends national boundaries. The new effort to expand operations to American soil, however, is a significant escalation. The FBI’s shadow campaign against Iran’s covert terrorist units is essential to ensuring national security and safeguarding the homeland.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s assertion that seeking revenge is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims suggests that Iran seeks to sponsor terrorist attacks while disavowing any direct involvement, part of a classic strategy of denial and obfuscation.
Iran’s military and clandestine intelligence operations in the Western hemisphere are a clear and present danger to the national security and interests of the U.S. The January 2024 assassination of three Americans, unquestionably by Iranian proxies, showed the Islamic Republic’s brazen willingness to strike at the heart of American life.
In response, the U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism communities must be vigilant. The multiplicity of threats, from cyber espionage to traditional surveillance, requires an adaptive and comprehensive approach to the problem. The FBI’s role in counteracting such threats, while daunting, is critical in preempting and neutralizing potential acts of terror and espionage on American soil. The FBI stands on the front lines of this clandestine war; it is America’s shield.
As tensions between the United States and Iran reach a boiling point, the menace of sleeper cells hangs like a Sword of Damocles over American domestic security. The solution to the problem is not simple. It demands a concerted effort from intelligence agencies, policymakers and international partners to dismantle these terror networks and prevent further escalation.
Until the destructive regime in Tehran undergoes a radical shift towards genuine peace and diplomacy, the U.S. and indeed the world must remain on high alert. The threat of domestic Iranian terror is not just a matter of national security but a stark reminder of the enduring struggle between the forces of terror and the ideals of freedom and peace.
The post The FBI’s Counterterrorism Operations Against Iran’s Terrorist Sleeper Cells first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Scandinavian country said on Friday.
The decision comes on the heels of multiple revelations regarding the agency’s employees’ involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Sweden’s decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid via the agency more difficult, the country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.
“Large parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible,” Dousa said. “For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through.”
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: “We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden’s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.
“There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,” she said.
The post Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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