Legal Group Launches Probe Into Iran Influence Network In US

During a Wednesday press conference, US President Joe Biden warned Iran against further attacks on US troops in the region after rising incidents in the last week. “My warning to the Ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond, and he should be prepared,” he warned.

Since Iran-backed Hamas declared war on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 and taking at least 220 hostages back into Gaza, Tehran's other proxy militias have intensified attacks on bases hosting American troops deployed in the region since 9/11. Hezbollah has increased its attacks on Israel’s northern border while proxies in Yemen and Syria have also fired missiles towards Israel.

At least 24 US troops have been injured during 10 drone or rocket attacks on bases in Iraq and three in Syria over the past week. 

Biden said his warning to Iran “has nothing to do with Israel,” but it echoes similar statements by Washington that on several occasions warned Tehran to “be careful” not to do anything that leads to expanding the conflict into a larger Middle East war. 

The US embassy in Kuwait has also received threats from an Iranian proxy, and downgraded all its operations to those which are deemed essential. 

The political deputy in Iran’s presidential office, Mohammad Jamshidi, said in what IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency described as a reaction to Biden’s remarks, “The US messages were neither directed to the leader of the Islamic Revolution nor were they anything but requests from the Iranian side. If Biden thinks he has warned Iran, he should ask his team to show him the text of the messages.”

Earlier in the week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that the United States sent at least two "urgent messages" to Tehran about the simmering tensions in the Middle East. According to Amwaj Media, a media outlet with links to the regime's close circles, Washington has also communicated a potential shift in its stance regarding Iranian assets held in Qatari banks and postponed talks on nuclear issues. The message was allegedly delivered by Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Doha on October 13. 

In a bid to slam the support given to Israel by the likes of the US and EU leaders, who have given their unequivocal support for its response to an attack which was the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards, said visits by US and European officials to Israel are aimed at “resuscitation to delay the inevitable death of the Zionist regime,” a term it uses for Israel.

Salami also warned against an Israeli ground invasion which the IDF today revealed had begun in small measure with a precise infiltration overnight. He warned, “If they move on the ground, the dragon of Gaza will devour them," suggesting the might of the regime's support will be initiated in full force.

Footage released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Thursday showed forces under the command of the Givati Brigade on Wednesday night carried out a targeted raid using tanks in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of the preparation of the area for the next stages of combat.

As part of the operation, the forces located and attacked many terrorists, destroyed terrorist infrastructures, anti-tank positions and carried out work to organize the area, the IDF said. The troops left the area at the end of the mission.

The Iranian regime’s foreign minister is scheduled to speak at the UN Security Council on Thursday. Just this week, he met with leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as it becomes harder for the regime to deny its hand in a war which now threatens to involve multiple fronts. The US and UK have been moving warships to the region and US troops are also headed to the Middle East.

Its Palestinian proxy Hamas declared war on Israel on October 7, when thousands of its troops slaughtered at least 1,400 and took at least 220 hostages to Gaza.

The hostages, which include women, the elderly, the sick and babies, are from dozens of nationalities, including Americans. Other American citizens were slaughtered in the massacre which saw thousands of Hamas militants run rampage in Israeli towns and villages.

Since then, its proxy Hezbollah has been upping its offensive on Israel’s northern border while proxies in Yemen and Syria have also sent missiles towards Israel.

Many have demanded answers, including former senate aide Richard Goldberg who said: “The White House needs to explain right now: Why did it allow an agent of the regime behind the 10/7 Hamas massacre into the country? Whether it will be allowing him to leave the country while Americans are held hostage?”

National security expert Norman Roule, also put the blame for the atrocities of October 7 in the hands of Iran, which continues to deny responsibility for the most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust, but incites each day for further action from both its proxies and the global population.

“Thousands dead at the hands of proxies of the regime this individual is proud to represent,” Roule wrote on X. “The funerals of the dead ongoing as he sits in New York luxury. Abdollahian's presence in the US is a cruel act for the many American and other families who have been forever broken by terrorists he celebrates.”

Senator Joni Ernst accused Biden of appeasing Iran in a bid to resume nuclear talks, amid increasing attacks on US troops in the Middle East. At least 13 attacks have been carried out against US bases in Iraq and Syria in the last week.

“Iran-backed terrorists have attacked our service members and are currently holding Americans hostage. But the Biden administration has granted a top Iranian official a visa — welcoming this regime on US soil with open arms. The appeasement must end,” she wrote on X.

The controversy echoes the sentiment which met President Ebrahim Raisi on his visit in September to the UN General Assembly. While an investigation is underway for the mass human rights abuses inflicted on Iranians since last year’s Women, Life, Freedom movement’s protests, he was given a platform, along with his wife, to claim Iranian women had full rights and freedom.

During the visit, he claimed the protests were merely propaganda and slammed the US and the West for meddling in Iranian affairs.

Each year, the regime funds Hamas with at least $100m in addition to providing training, technology and military equipment to the Gazan militants, designated by the US, UK and EU.

Mark Wallace, CEO of United Against a Nuclear Iran, blasted Amir-Abdollahian for being “involved in planning for Hamas’ attack on Israel” claiming he “should never have been allowed into the US after having the blood of Americans on his hands”.

As the IRGC - designated in the US - comes under increasing fire, and the UK recently admitting Iran is the country’s greatest threat, the welcoming of Amir-Abdollahian shows the immunity the regime’s leaders have as they continue to move freely.

Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Guards, has also spoken openly about the regime’s ongoing support for the Hamas war on Israel, warning against an Israeli ground invasion which last night, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was imminent.

Salami warned: ”Israelis have no way other than bombing Gaza; if they move on the ground, the dragon of Gaza will devour them." He described this event as "one of the most memorable" defeats in which "America, England, and Israel joined forces”.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against a Nuclear Iran, accused the US of double standards in its foreign policy when it comes to Iran, citing the US refusal of a visa to the previous foreign minister, Javad Zarif, in 2020.

“Abdollahian has the blood of Americans on his hands as he is an IRGC terrorist operative and US forces are currently under fire while this man is being offered entry, protected by US security,” he said, outraged.

Under the US-UN Host Agreement, for security, terrorism, and foreign policy concerns, there is an exception under which the US can deny entry to a foreign official for UN meetings.

“There is precedent for this and it should have been exercised in this case. An outrage,” he said.

The message was allegedly delivered by Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Doha on October 13, according to Amwaj Media.

The delay is suspected to be driven by the tensions surrounding the war waged by Iran-backed terror group Hamas on October 7 against Israel when thousands of its militia slaughtered at least 1,400 civilians and soldiers and took at least 220 more hostage.

Since then, attacks have taken place on US bases in Iraq and Syria, with Iran's Yemen proxy, the Houthis, also sending missiles towards Israel since the war broke out, intercepted by the US and Saudi Arabia.

According to Amwaj Media, a source denied the war in Gaza was to blame for the postponement.

In August, Tehran and Washington struck a deal that led to the liberation of five American hostages held in Iran, in exchange for the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets located in South Korea. These Iranian assets were first transferred to Switzerland's central bank for conversion before being subsequently moved to Iranian bank accounts based in Qatar.

The United States has made itself clear in its desire for Iran to stay out of the Israel-Hamas conflict and warned it to control its Lebanon proxy, Hezbollah. It has also pledged its commitment to support Israel as it vows to rid the Gaza Strip of the terror group designated by the US, EU and UK.

As of the time of this publication, the US State Department has not issued an official statement regarding the developments.

Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, known for his expertise in nuclear-related matters, made the claims amid an escalating conflict between Iran-backed Hamas and Israel.

The US has mobilized war ships and troops and vowed to do all it can to stand by its ally Israel in the face of a war declared by Hamas -- designated by the UK, US and EU — on October 7.

The former head of the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Policy and National Security Committee warned that such a war would not serve the interests of either nation. Instead, he proposed that both sides should engage in dialogue, suggesting that a 'red table' in Muscat, Oman, could provide a suitable setting for diplomatic negotiations.

Oman has a history of mediating between Western countries and the Islamic Republic. The country has successfully helped facilitate the release of several foreign citizens and dual nationals held hostage by Iran in the past.

Experts believe the key to preventing further regional conflict lies in how the US responds to recent attacks against its forces in the region, 13 attacks on US troops in Syria in just one week, and whether it holds Iran accountable for the actions of its proxies.

However, the central question posed is whether the US threat to intervene in the Hamas war on Israel and if its deterrence strategy are viewed as credible by Iran and its proxies. Hezbollah on Israel's northern border have continued to step up military attacks while the Houthis in Yemen have begun to send missiles towards Israel, intercepted by Saudi Arabia and the US.

Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, "The EU has from the very beginning condemned the coup d'état in Niger in the strongest terms."

The newly established framework empowers the EU to impose sanctions on those responsible for actions that it deems 'jeopardize Niger's peace, stability, and security, undermine its constitutional order, or involve severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law'. In doing so, the EU seeks to align and reinforce the actions taken by the West African regional organization ECOWAS.

Bakary Yaou Sangare, the Foreign Minister of Niger's military government, was also in Tehran. On Monday, he met with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Foreign Minister.

State news agency IRNA described the ousted Nigerien president, Mohamed Bazoum, as being aligned with the West and noted that he was removed from office by the National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland.

The junta in Niger opposes the presence of French forces in Africa and aligns itself with Russia. In September, Russian military officials made a visit to Africa, signaling Russia's efforts to bolster its role on the continent.