The "Middle East and Terrorism" Blog was created in order to supply information about the implication of Arab countries and Iran in terrorism all over the world. Most of the articles in the blog are the result of objective scientific research or articles written by senior journalists.
From the Ethics of the Fathers: "He [Rabbi Tarfon] used to say, it is not incumbent upon you to complete the task, but you are not exempt from undertaking it."
Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf is leading the talks with the United States, a source told The Jerusalem Post.
US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding
Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport on March 23, 2026 in
West Palm Beach, Florida.(photo credit: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump said that the US may share control of the Strait of Hormuz
with Iran, while also suggesting that regime change has already
happened, given the number of regime officials eliminated thus far in
the war, while speaking to reporters on Monday.
"Maybe me, me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah, whoever the next Ayatollah is. And there will also be some form of regime change, very serious regime change."
Trump said the conversations, during which the two sides had "major points of agreement," took place on Sunday and involved the "top" Iranian leadership, though he had not heard from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and further noted that he does not know if Khamenei is alive.
Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf is leading the talks with the United States, a source told The Jerusalem Post.
"We're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader," Trump said.
A
man cleans a billboard featuring Iran's late supreme leaders Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (C) next to newly
elected supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, on the outskirts of
Srinagar on March 23, 2026. (credit: Tauseef MUSTAFA / AFP via Getty
Images)
"But we're dealing with people who I find very reasonable, very stable," Trump said.
Mediating
countries are trying to convene a meeting this week between senior
American and Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, a source familiar
with the details told the Post.
"All
I'm saying is, we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a
deal," Trump told reporters before departing Florida for Memphis.
Witkoff, Kushner held talks with Iran
Trump added that his Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, held the talks.
"We
have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have
points, major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of
agreement... we've had very strong talks, Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner
had them," Trump said.
The
President said that the talks had also involved the issue of uranium
enrichment, saying that he remains committed to zero enrichment for
Iran, as well as Iran's surrender of existing enriched uranium.
"The edifice of this tyrannical regime is cracking. It has not opened up to wide chasms yet, but that's the direction it's going,” Leiter said.
Israeli ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter speaks
to the media at the site of the recent shooting outside the Lillian and
Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum on May 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.(photo credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Small
units within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Basij
have reportedly begun refusing to report for duty, signaling emerging
cracks within the regime, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter told Bloomberg on Sunday.
“The
edifice of this tyrannical regime is cracking. It has not opened up to
wide chasms yet, but that's the direction it's going,” Leiter said,
adding that it wasn’t just Iran’s military capabilities that were being
degraded, but also the morale of its armed forces.
“We have small units within the system of the IRGC and the Basij,
which are not turning their weapons yet on their superiors, but they're
not showing up for work,” Leiter said. “And that's a first. It's
developing, and it's a process.”
He went on to compare the Iranian government with historical regimes that ultimately fell.
“We
never knew exactly when the Soviet Union would fall, or exactly when
the Romanians would turn their guns against Ceausescu,” Leiter said, but
in the case of the Iranian people, “this is a people, 92,000,000, who
want freedom, who want something else, who don't want the boot of the
repressive regime on their necks anymore.”
Israel's
Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter the President residence in
Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Leiter: Iran aimed for Dimona nuclear research facility
Earlier
in the interview, Leiter addressed the Iranian missile attacks on
southern Israel. The ambassador, referring to the volleys launched at
Dimona, said that the Islamic Republic was likely aiming for the nuclear research facility there.
Iranian
media had said at the time that the facility was targeted in
retaliation for a strike that hit the Natanz nuclear facility. The IDF
had said it was unaware of the attack. Leiter also said he did not
believe that Israel struck Natanz.
The
attack “did not strike our research center, but that's certainly where
it appears they were aiming,” Leiter said, but noted that scores of
people were wounded in the “mass-casualty” event.
Further,
addressing the endgoal of the war against Iran and the prospect of the
conflict concluding with the regime remaining in power, Leiter said
that, ultimately, the goal was to remove the possibility that there
would be “an entity in Tehran which is capable of firing massive numbers
of ballistic missiles, achieving a nuclear weapon, and supporting
proxies around the region.”
Leiter
listed these objectives as the minimum requirements of the war,
suggesting they needed to be achieved on the battlefield, as Tehran was
not a trustworthy partner in negotiations.
Leiter: Give Iran more time and it will have an ICBM that will hit Chicago
“They're mass killers, and murderers do not tell the truth,” Leiter said, pointing to the Sunday missile attack on the Diego Garcia joint US-UK military base, some 4,000 kilometers away from Iran.
“Look
at the ICBM that was fired yesterday,” he said. “They claimed for years
and years, ‘we don't have an ICBM.’ Well, they did. And the ICBM that
can be fired at 4,000 kilometers, you know, give them a little bit more
time, and they're gonna have an ICBM that's gonna hit Chicago.”
Trump said he instructed the Department of Defense to postpone planned military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.
US President Donald Trump gestures as he steps from Air Force
One upon his arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, US, March 20, 2026(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
US
President Donald Trump asserted on Monday that the US and Iran have had
“very good and productive” discussions over the last two days regarding
a permanent end to the war.
“I
am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country
of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive
conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our
hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump
added that, based on the “tenor and tone” of the discussions, which he
described as “in depth, detailed, and constructive,” he had instructed
the Department of Defense to postpone planned military strikes on
Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.
According
to the president, the delay will span a five-day period, "subject to
the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions."
Trump's
post contradicts a statement he published on the social media platform
the day prior, when the president vowed the US would destroy Iran's power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully opened within 48 hours.
Screenshot
of a March 23, 2026 Truth Social post from US President Donald Trump
where the president said the US and Iran have had 'very good'
conversations regarding a resolution to the war in the Middle East.
(credit: SCREENSHOT/TRUTH SOCIAL)
Iran reportedly denies talks to end war
An Iranian source later denied that the US and Iran were holding talks about ending the war.
"There
is no direct contact with Trump, not even through intermediaries. Trump
retreated after hearing that our targets would be all power plants in
West Asia," the unnamed source told the Iranian state-affiliated Fars
News Agency.
Oil prices drop by over 13%
Oil prices fell shortly after Trump’s announcement, reflecting market expectations of potential de-escalation in the region.
Oil
prices fell by over 13%. Brent crude futures LCOc1 had fallen around
$17, or 15%, to a session low of $96 a barrel by 1108 GMT, while US West
Texas Intermediate CLc1 had fallen $13, or about 13.5%, to a session
low of $85.28.
Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.
The notion that the "Board of Peace," no matter how well-intentioned, can persuade Hamas to relinquish its arsenal through dialogue alone ignores decades of evidence to the contrary.
Someone needs to inform Mladenov that Hamas has already made a choice: to reject disarmament.
Hamas leaders have instead proposed long-term truces (5-10 years)
rather than total decommissioning of arms. Another thing the "Board of
Peace" and Mladenov do not seem to understand is that Hamas uses
ceasefires with Israel to rebuild, regroup, and restock its arsenal and tunnel networks.
To ask Hamas politely to disarm is fantasyland.
The notion that the "Board of Peace," no matter how
well-intentioned, can persuade Hamas to relinquish its arsenal through
dialogue alone ignores decades of evidence to the contrary.
The Trump administration seems to have forgotten that Hamas is a
terrorist group whose foundational principles and actions are centered
on the use of violent Jihad (holy war) and the destruction of Israel. Hamas is aware that it cannot achieve its goal without holding onto its weapons.
The dangerous message now being sent is: hold on to your weapons long enough, and the world will come to beg you.
Hamas will disarm only when it realizes that the cost of holding
onto weapons exceeds the benefits. Hamas will lay down its weapons only
when it faces sustained political, economic and, if necessary, military
pressure.... For Hamas, weapons are the foundation of its rule, its
ideology, and its survival. Asking Hamas to give up its weapons
voluntarily is like asking the Republican or Democrat party to vote
itself out of existence.
Treating disarmament as a voluntary goodwill gesture rather than a
non-negotiable prerequisite is unfortunately a non-starter. Disarmament
is not a favor Hamas gives; it is a condition that must be enforced to
prevent countless more October 7-style massacres against Jews.
Someone needs to inform "Board of Peace" Director-General
Nikolay Mladenov that Hamas has already made a choice: to reject
disarmament. Another thing the "Board of Peace" and Mladenov do not seem
to understand is that Hamas uses ceasefires with Israel to rebuild,
regroup, and restock its arsenal and tunnel networks. Pictured:
Mladenov speaks at the "Board of Peace" meeting in Davos, Switzerland on
January 22, 2026. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
US President Donald J. Trump's "Board of Peace" has reportedly presented Hamas with a written proposal on how it could lay down its weapons, according to a recent report.
The proposal
"was submitted to Hamas during meetings in Cairo over the past week."
The talks were attended by Nikolay Mladenov, the Trump-appointed "Board
of Peace" envoy to the Gaza Strip, and Aryeh Lightstone, a US aide to
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Mladenov, in a message greeting Muslims on the Eid al-Fitr feast marking the end of Ramadan, later wrote on X:
"As the blessed days of Eid are upon us, serious efforts
persist to chart a hopeful path for Gaza. A framework has been agreed by
all mediators that can unlock reconstruction, breathe life back into
communities, and bring closer to unity and a negotiated resolution of
the Palestinian question. It is now on the table. It requires one clear
choice: full decommissioning by Hamas and every armed group, with no
exceptions and no carve-outs. In this season of hope, may those
responsible make the right choice for the Palestinian people."
Someone needs to inform Mladenov that Hamas has already made a choice: to reject disarmament. Over the past few months, Hamas leaders have consistently dismissed demands to disarm and characterized disarmament as a "red line." Hamas leaders have instead proposed
long-term truces (5-10 years) rather than total decommissioning of
arms. Another thing the "Board of Peace" and Mladenov do not seem to
understand is that Hamas uses ceasefires with Israel to rebuild, regroup, and restock its arsenal and tunnel networks.
The tone of the latest US proposal to Hamas and Mladenov's holiday greetings appears as if the Trump administration is pleading
with Hamas to disarm. There is something deeply misguided – if not
outright dangerous – about the idea that the US or other international
parties should beg Hamas to lay down its weapons. To ask Hamas politely
to disarm is fantasyland.
The notion that the "Board of Peace," no matter how well-intentioned,
can persuade Hamas to relinquish its arsenal through dialogue alone
ignores decades of evidence to the contrary. The Trump administration
seems to have forgotten that Hamas is a terrorist group whose
foundational principles and actions are centered on the use of violent Jihad (holy war) and the destruction of Israel. Hamas is aware that it cannot achieve its goal without holding onto its weapons.
Hamas's 1988 Charter
explicitly states that "Israel will exist, and continue to exist, until
Islam will obliterate it," rejects any negotiated peace settlement, and
emphasizes that jihad is the "only solution."
More than four months after the ceasefire went into effect in the
Gaza Strip, Hamas has shown no sign that it intends to disarm. In fact,
Hamas has exploited the ceasefire to regroup, rearm, and tighten its
grip on the Gaza Strip by cracking down on dissent, imposing taxes on
the population, deploying its police forces in areas under its control,
and appointing its own men to senior positions in government
institutions.
On the first day of Eid al-Fitr, masked members of Hamas's military
wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, reappeared on the streets of the
Gaza Strip as part of an effort to send a message to the Palestinians
and the rest of the world that the terrorist group is not going
anywhere.
"Qassam resistance fighters are distributing sweets to children after
Eid prayer in Nuseirat camp in the Gaza Strip," a Hamas supporter commented on X.
"For more than two years, they have been trying to
eliminate the resistance in Gaza, but failure has been their ally and
companion. And soon, God willing, victory and liberation will come."
Also on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades released a video featuring its terrorists inside tunnels, as well as footage documenting clashes with the Israeli army.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which spearheaded the October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, pledged
to continue the fight "until the complete liberation of Palestine" –
the elimination of Israel: "Every sacrifice brings Palestinians one step
closer to their goal of complete liberation."
If anything, these threats show that Hamas has no intention to end its jihad
against Israel or lay down its weapons. That is why the Trump
administration is making an enormous mistake by assuming that Hamas will
agree to hand over its weapons through diplomacy and negotiations. When
the Trump administration appears to plead with Hamas, it is inverting
the basic logic of diplomacy. Instead of applying pressure on the terror
group, Trump's "Board of Peace" is effectively legitimizing Hamas's
tactics. The dangerous message now being sent is: hold on to your
weapons long enough, and the world will come to beg you.
Hamas will disarm only when it realizes that the cost of holding onto
weapons exceeds the benefits. Hamas will lay down its weapons only when
it faces sustained political, economic and, if necessary, military
pressure. Hamas has made it clear that its weapons are not bargaining
chips. For Hamas, weapons are the foundation of its rule, its ideology,
and its survival. Asking Hamas to give up its weapons voluntarily is
like asking the Republican or Democrat party to vote itself out of
existence.
Treating disarmament as a voluntary goodwill gesture rather than a
non-negotiable prerequisite is unfortunately a non-starter. Disarmament
is not a favor Hamas gives; it is a condition that must be enforced to
prevent countless more October 7-style massacres against Jews.
Watch this podcast of Dan Senor interviewing investigative journalist Ronen Bergman to get a glimpse of the fascinating operations carried out by Israeli operatives in Iran for the past several decades.
This is a sneak peek from this week’s members-only Inside Call me Back, which started a special three-part series on Israel’s shadow war with Iran.
The current campaign against Iran is just one chapter in a much longer war that has been taking place in the shadows for over three decades.
This is the story of that war.
In this first installment, Ronen Bergman tells Dan about the first stage of the war: from the intelligence that led to the discovery of the nuclear program to Mossad’s assassinations of Iran's nuclear scientists, to groundbreaking cyber warfare.
Analysts say Cuba's leadership vacuum is by design, with Raúl Castro still seen as the key power behind President DÃaz-Canel
President Donald Trump
signaled this week that the United States could take action on Cuba,
raising new questions about what would happen if mounting pressure
triggers a political shift on the island.
The
warning comes as Cuba faces one of its most severe internal crises in
decades, with a collapsing economy, widespread blackouts and fuel
shortages straining the regime’s ability to govern. The situation has
worsened as shipments of subsidized fuel from Venezuela have declined,
cutting off a key energy lifeline.
But as pressure builds from
both inside and outside the island, experts say the central question is
not who could replace President Miguel DÃaz-Canel — it’s that there is
no clear successor at all.
A
poster of Cuba's Fidel Castro hangs on the wall of a food market next
to a plate that reads in Spanish, "I'm looking at you," in Havana, Cuba,
Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2013. Castro's brother Raul Castro has been in power
since a near-fatal illness forced Fidel to step aside in 2006.(AP Photo/Franklin Reyes)
"Cuba’s leadership vacuum
is the result of a system that has spent decades making sure no
independent leadership can exist in the first place," Melissa Ford
Maldonado, AFPI director of the Western Hemisphere Initiative, told Fox
News Digital.
She added that the regime has "controlled
communication, restricted the gathering of people, surveilled its own
people, killed press freedom, criminalized dissent and ultimately made a
powerful opposition force highly unlikely."
"Who replaces
DÃaz-Canel is more symbolic than anything else," Sebastián A. Arcos,
interim director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida
International University, told Fox News Digital.
Cuba's
President Miguel Diaz-Canel gestures during the BRICS summit second
plenary session in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6, 2025.(PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)
Arcos
said DÃaz-Canel "has very little power," describing him as a figure
installed to project a younger image without altering the system.
"The key person continues to be Raúl Castro," he said, referring to the 94-year-old former Cuban leader.
That
dynamic, analysts argue, explains why even a dramatic shift — whether
driven by internal collapse or external pressure — may not immediately
produce a new leader.
And
yet a small group of insiders, technocrats and opposition figures are
seen as potential players in any transition — though none represent a
clear or unified alternative.
Cuba's
Minister of Foreign Investment Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga speaks at the
41st Havana International Fair (FIHAV) in Havana, Cuba Nov. 25, 2025.(Norlys Perez/Reuters)
The
54-year-old electronics engineer serves as deputy prime minister and
minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, and is the
great-nephew of Fidel and Raúl Castro.
Alejandro
Castro Espin, son of Cuba's President Raul Castro, is seen during an
event commemorating the one-year anniversary of the death of late Cuban
President Fidel Castro, in Havana, Cuba, Nov. 25, 2017.(Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)
A
longtime intelligence official, he is closely tied to Cuba’s internal
security apparatus and the inner circle of power, according to El PaÃs.
While
not publicly positioned as a successor, his influence underscores how
power remains concentrated within the Castro family and military-linked
elite, which experts say could lead to a hardline continuity scenario
rooted in security control.
Manuel Marrero Cruz: tied to the crisis
Cuban
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz attends a meeting with Russian Prime
Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Moscow, Russia June 13, 2023.(Sputnik/Dmitry Astakhov/Pool via Reuters)
Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz remains one of the most visible figures in Cuba’s current leadership.
But
Arcos noted that Marrero’s tenure is deeply tied to the country’s
economic collapse. "He’s been there during this dramatic decline… so
he’s closely associated with the catastrophe," he said.
Experts
cited by El PaÃs similarly assess that figures like Marrero are
unlikely to represent meaningful change, and that he represents
continuity tied to the current crisis, with little credibility for
reform.
Roberto Morales Ojeda: the party structure
Cuba's
Minister of Public Health Roberto Morales Ojeda looks on during a news
conference on support to Ebola-affected countries at the World Health
Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva on September 12, 2014.(Pierre Albouy/Reuters)
As
a senior Communist Party official, Roberto Morales Ojeda represents the
regime’s institutional core. His power lies within the party apparatus,
enforcing loyalty and ideological control.
Like other insiders, he is seen as part of the continuity model rather than a break from it.
Rosa MarÃa Payá and the opposition: influence from the outside
Rosa
Maria Paya, daughter of late Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, is seen
during a tribute to her father's memory in Santiago, Chile April 17,
2017.(Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)
While regime insiders dominate succession discussions, opposition figures remain largely outside the island.
"The
Cuban opposition is organized, we are present both inside Cuba and in
the diaspora, and we have a concrete plan," Rosa MarÃa Payá told Fox
News Digital. "Cubans do not need to be liberated from the outside and
handed a government. We are ready to lead. What we need is for the
United States and the international community to ensure that when this
regime falls, the opposition has a seat at the table."
"The
first priority is political prisoners and guaranteeing basic civil
liberties," she described their plan. "They must be released
immediately, and that has to be a non-negotiable condition of any
agreement. The second is dismantling the repressive apparatus… From
there, the plan moves to a transitional government, addressing the
humanitarian situation and setting a clear timeline toward free and
internationally monitored elections."
Arcos spoke positively about
Payá role and the broader opposition movement. "They are honorable,
respectful, smart people, who want the best for Cuba," he said. "They’re
not just seeking power… they’re doing this based on a sense of duty."
Protesters
gather outside a Communist Party headquarters in Morón, Cuba, as a fire
burns in the street during overnight unrest. Video obtained by Fox News
Digital appeared to show demonstrators attempting to set fire to the
building amid protests linked to widespread blackouts.(Reuters)
Still, analysts caution that the system leaves little room for an opposition-led transition in the near term.
"The
reality is that much of Cuba’s real opposition no longer lives on the
island," Ford Maldonado said, noting that repression has pushed
leadership into exile.
The bottom line: no clear heir, no easy transition
Despite speculation around individual names, experts say the real issue is structural.
"If Raúl dies tomorrow, that could open the Pandora’s box," Arcos said, suggesting internal power struggles could surface.
Even then, he warned, the regime is unlikely to relinquish control easily after decades in power.
Fidel
Castro, left, raises his brother's hand, Cuba's President Raul Castro,
center, as they sing the anthem of international socialism in Havana,
Cuba.(AP)
"There’s likely no real path forward that runs through the Castros or the current regime," Ford Maldonado said.
For
now, Cuba’s succession question remains unresolved, not because there
are no names, but because the system itself was designed to ensure there
is no true alternative waiting in the wings.
Efrat Lachter is a foreign correspondent for Fox News Digital covering international
affairs and the United Nations. Follow her on X @efratlachter. Stories
can be sent to efrat.lachter@fox.com.
Radicals Promote Tehran’s Narrative on Britain’s Streets
Protesters at a poorly attended Al
Quds protest in London promote anti-Israel and anti-Western messaging
on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran on March 15, 2026.(Hannah Baldock)
A young woman stands before me, holding a placard honoring Ayatollah
Khamenei, Iran’s recently killed supreme leader, emblazoned with the
slogan “The Right Side of History.” Near her, tiny girl in a black hijab
maybe five years old, hands out campaign cards as part of a
demonstration marking Al-Quds Day—an annual, Iran-initiated event held
at the end of Ramadan to mobilize global opposition to Israel and
express solidarity with Palestinians. It is Sunday, March 15, 2026, and
we are standing on the south bank of the River Thames opposite the U.K.
Parliament. The young woman is a volunteer steward with the Islamic
Human Rights Commission (IHRC), the London-based Islamist charity that
organizes the annual rally.
Death to America, death to Israel.
Chants heard at the Al Quds rally in London on March 15, 2026.
The IHRC claimed that 15,000 attended the rally, when even Islamist-friendly media placed
the figure in the hundreds. This brazen disinformation from IHRC summed
up the propaganda exercise, where images on display and speeches
conjured fantasies of a civilizational struggle between righteous
Muslims and the “Epstein class” of “pedophiles” attacking Iran.
As
we speak, she tells me she admires Iran’s stance on “trying to stop a
genocide in Palestine” and says she would consider living there. “I’m
only here for my education,” she explains. When I ask if she was born in
the U.K., she says yes.
“That’s sad. You must be very conflicted,” I respond.
“No,
not conflicted at all,” she insists. As we talk, she defends Iran’s
political system and dismisses reports of 30,000 killed in the regime’s
January 2026 crackdown. “We understand it was about 2,000,” she says,
“and they weren’t peaceful—they were put up to cause trouble by foreign
powers.”
Speaking of trouble caused by foreign powers, the IHRC
had planned a march through London until Metropolitan Police
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley requested that this year’s march be banned
due to a “real risk of serious violence and disorder” amid warnings about possible Iranian-linked “sleeper cell” activity in the U.K. Rowley told
BBC London that the rally is “a construct of the Khomeini regime in
Iran, that creates a unique threat and provocation in the U.K.” A
cross-party group of 90 politicians had also called for a full ban on Al Quds day protests, arguing they promoted extremist narratives and intimidation.
The event might have been banned altogether under new legislation such as the National Security Act 2023 and the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS), but Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs
that while a march had been prohibited, a static protest could not
legally be prevented. She also acknowledged that counter-terrorism
police had arrested four individuals on March 6, 2026, under the
National Security Act on suspicion of spying on Jewish communities for Iran.
An
young woman displays a sign declaring that the repressive regime that
has murdered thousands of citizens in the Islamic Republic of Iran is on
“the right side of history.” In a conversation with Focus on Western Islamism
correspondent Hannah Baldock, she declared that the protesters who were
killed during recent protests in Iran were agitated by “foreign powers”
and that the regime only killed about 2,000 people. Most sources state
that the regime killed more than 30,000 protesters.
The Metropolitan Police—who warned
organizers that expressions of support for banned groups or
inflammatory slogans like “Globalize the Intifada” could lead to
arrest—deployed around 1,000 officers at the rally. With numbers like
this, they dwarf the rally enforcing barriers that seal off the Albert
Embankment and nearby bridges. A police boat patrolled the Thames, which
separates demonstrators from Iranian dissident groups such as the Lion Guard of Iran and the grassroots movement Stop the Hate who stand on the opposite bank
One protester ignores the warning against supporting terrorism and displays a sign reading “Boom Boom Tel Aviv,” prompting
police to lead him away. Twelve others were arrested over the course of
the day for offenses including public disorder, support for a
proscribed organization, and threatening behavior.
On the Albert
Embankment, Palestinian flags fly alongside banners of Lebanon and Iran.
Protestors chant “Long Live Khamenei,” and “Long Live Mojtaba!”
referring to the late Ayatollah’s son and successor. They also chant
“Labbaik Ya Husayn” (“Here I am Oh Husayn”), an echo of the response to
the cry of Imam Husayn ibn Ali (Mohammad’s grandson and the third imam
in Twelver Shia Islam) who died at the Battle of Karbala in the year
680.
Rotating images displayed on LED screens on “digivans” near
the rally include one depicting the graves of 168 alleged victims of a
missile strike on a girls’ primary school in Minab. Another shows a
mocked-up film poster for “World War Epstein” featuring Donald Trump,
Binyamin Netanyahu, and the dead financier Jeffrey Epstein standing
face-to-face with Ayatollahs Khomeini, Khamanei, and Mojtaba Khamanei.
At
the head of the rally, I ask a striking attendee with flowing dark
highlighted hair. I ask why she had come out in support of a regime that
would not allow her to expose her hair. “Is she Iranian,” I wonder. She
tells me she is Iraqi and attending to support Palestinians. Iran, she
says, is “the only country and only regime that is trying to stop the
genocide.”
Protesters
at an Al Quds rally in London on March 15, 2026, promote the “World War
Epstein” message to discredit American and Israeli attacks on the
Islamic Republic of Iran.
(Hannah Baldock)
“Khamanei, the leader who passed away, the way he speaks
about women, he puts women on a pedestal. No other leader has,” she says
before declaring. “Before you comment, look it up.” Using my iPhone, I find the quote on Facebook.
Still,
I challenge her, noting that the regime’s actions against women like
Mahsa Amini speak louder than words, and that Iraqi militias had
allegedly been drafted in to shoot Iranian protestors. Sticking to the rally’s talking points, she blames the unrest in Iran on foreign forces.
“Go
and see what bullets they found in the streets of Iran just now,” she
says. “From the Israelis themselves, from Mossad themselves. Mossad
agents in the protests were using Iranian protestors as shields.”
On stage, a speaker from the Revolutionary Communist Group
repeats the phrase “Globalize the Intifada,” while describing her
arrest for using it at a protest the previous day by Sussex police. She
tells the crowd that the police who arrested her acted “on behalf of the
Zionists, in their endless endeavor to doxx and intimidate
pro-Palestinian activists.” Clearly, this speaker did not just support
the human rights of Gazans, but their jihad.
“So, they will try to
silence us and intimidate us and deform our solidarity with Palestine
into a purely humanitarian solidarity,” she yelled. “We cannot let them.
Free Palestine!”
A
young girl hands out leaflets at an Al Quds protest in London on March
15, 2026. In the background a “digivan” displays anti-Israel propaganda
to passersby.
(Hannah Baldock)
Another speaker from the Palestinian Youth Movement took
the microphone to declare that Western and Israeli forces had killed
“180 people” in a girls’ school in Minab, describing it as a deliberate
tactic “to test people’s reaction and reaffirm that they can get away
with the most barbaric forms of violence.” To buttress her case, she
cited the Al-Ahli hospital explosion in Gaza in October 2023 as an
example of the same tactic, despite reports from Human Rights Watch attributing it
probably to a failed rocket launch of a projectile of a type used by
Palestinian organizations.Israel at the time pointed to Islamic Jihad as
the likely perpetrator.
The same speaker describes “186,000 martyrs” in Gaza, while figures from Gaza health authorities report over 71,000 deaths to date. Another speaker, a student who is facing trial in June for allegedly expressing support for Hamas, denounces
the ‘racist warmongering agenda’ of the Labour government which she
says is “advancing the interests of British imperialism of which Iran
has been an obstacle since 1979’ and “hoping to get its share of the
spoils.” An attendee, a Lebanese Scot, works the crowd, distributing
leaflets with slogans including “Iran is not the Enemy…. the enemy is
the imperialist pedophile war machine.” The materials include the claim
Iran had “never attacked any nation unprovoked.” When challenged with
examples such as Hezbollah attacks in Argentina, directed by Iran, he questions the evidence.
U.K.
performing artist Bob Vylan at the March 15, 2026 Al Quds rally in
London during which he led the crowd in a chant of “Death, Death to the
IDF!”
(Hannah Baldock)
Punk rap artist Bob Vylan took the stage and told the crowd
that the West is run by “cold-hearted monsters,” accused the government
of “gaslighting” protesters, and branded the police “pigs.” He lamented
what he called “Zionist influence” in Britain, declaring: “Whilst men
like [Labour donor and vice-president of the Jewish Leadership Council]
Trevor Chinn and [Jewish former investment banker and philanthropist]
Stuart Roden, and organizations like Elnet (a non-profit
that promotes links between Europe and Israel), continue to line the
pockets of British politicians, we will continue to face prosecution for
taking part in peaceful protests.” He concludes with chants of “Death,
death, death to the IDF,” echoed by parts of the crowd. IHRC director
Nazim Ali tells the crowd, “We also have one in Farsi,” before leading
the crowd with chants of “Marg bar Âmrikâ, Marg bar Israel”—“Death to
America, death to Israel.”
He concludes with chants of “Death,
death, death to the IDF,” echoed by parts of the crowd. ‘We also have
one in Farsi, which has been going for 50 years, chimes in IHRC director
Nazim Ali: “Marg bar Âmrikâ, Marg bar Israel”—“Death to America, death
to Israel.”
After the event, the Metropolitan Police reported that it would investigate the chants but suggested it’s unlikely they will arrest anyone. Vylan’s used the same chants to incite the crowd at Glastonbury Festival in 2025, which was broadcast live
by the BBC. “When this language had been used previously, we sought
advice from the CPS who determined that there would be insufficient
evidence to take a case forward,” the Metropolitan Police announced.
Anti-Regime Protests
Across
the river, the counter-protesters exhibited their contempt for the
regime and hope for its ouster. Demonstrators held placards reading
“This is the Final Battle! This is the Last Al Quds! Your Terrorist
Leaders are Dead.”
The atmosphere was celebratory, with music and
dancing. One woman who said she had left Iran after the 2022 protests
said of the attempts by those at the main rally to minimize the scale of
the regime’s recent repression. “They are not Iranians,” she said.
I
realized she spoke the truth. What I witnessed on the other side of the
river was a coalition of South Asian and Arab Islamist activists,
revolutionary socialists, celebrity radicals, sectarian clerics and
identity-driven hangers-on who sustained the IHRC’s pro-regime
narrative. They promoted a notion—some no doubt unwittingly—that Islam
(or the Iranian regime’s authoritarian iteration of it) should conquer
all.
This was the message offered by IHRC’s director Nazim Ali,
who told the crowd, “For us, Al-Quds Day is a day of Islam. This is not a
day of Iran. It is a movement for Muslims around the world.” He added:
“This is a war of truth against falsehood. This is a force of good
against evil.”
Potkin Azarmehr.
Speaking with me after the rally, U.K.-based Iranian
activist and journalist Potkin Azarmehr affirmed that the Al Quds rally I
witnessed was sustained by non-Iranians.
“The regime has lasted
this long because most of the support isn’t inside Iran, it’s outside
Iran. There’s about 40 million Shia in Pakistan,” Azarmehr said.
“Thirty-five of them were killed
when they came out of the streets in Pakistan to mourn Khamenei. That’s
how dedicated to the cause they are. Its’s because they are a
persecuted minority in many Muslim countries, except maybe Iraq. They
look at Iran like a sort of savior. They feel if they lose Iran, they
are left unprotected.”
Azarmehr, founder of the first
counter-protest to the Quds that took place in London in March
2003—attended by “about seven” people—noted that for the first time the
2026 counter-rally was as big as the rally itself. Fortunately, it got
decent coverage with one participant telling
GB News that, “We have many reasons to celebrate. This rotten regime is
on the way out. This is probably the last Al Quds they’ll ever throw.”
Asked what message he would send, he replied: “Wake up, grow up. Have
peace and stop slaughtering your own people.”
Hannah Baldock is a journalist who specializes in radicalization, terrorism, and Islamism. She is a frequent contributor to Focus on Western Islamism.
