Report: Iranian Official Acknowledge Complicity in Assassination Plot

Despite repeated denials of Iran's involvement in a recent plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington, the Iranian foreign minister admitted his country's involvement on Wednesday, Al Arabiya news reported.

An Iranian source told the Saudi-owned news agency that Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi recently met with Mohammed Nahavandian, former assistant at the National Security Council and the current president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In the meeting, Salehi allegedly disclosed the involvement of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force in the plot.

"This is true. The plot was about to be carried out. It is not a figment of the American authorities' imagination," the source quoted Salehi as saying.

The source is close to Gholam Hussein Elham, former spokesman of the Iranian government and a current dissident of the regime in Tehran.

Manssor Arbabsiar, an Iranian-American car salesman living in Texas, and Gholam Shakuri, accused of being an Iran-based member of the Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, were indicted for their involvement in the plot in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan Oct. 20. Arbabsiar pleaded not guilty to the charges last week.

For its part, the Iranian government insists the plot is an American fabrication and has even demanded an apology from the United States for its accusations against Iran.

"Instead of pursuing this scenario and the wrong path of foreign policy in which they are moving, Americans had better move to correct this path," Iran's official news agency IRNA reported that foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. "A letter has been sent [to the United States] ... It is our right to seek the official apology of the Americans in protest of this made-up scenario, as these allegations are not true at all," he added.

The United States on Tuesday dismissed the Iranian letter as "a rant" and Saudi Arabia has ruled out the possibility of negotiating with Iran about the plot.

"There can be no compromise with Iran concerning the assassination bid because there is no need for it," the Crown Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, who is also the deputy premier and interior minister, told a news conference on Tuesday. "We are ready to deal with any scenario... with any means necessary."

Arson Hits French Magazine After Mohammad Satire

The offices of a French satirical newspaper were firebombed Wednesday and its website hacked after satirizing the Islamic prophet Mohammed in a special issue dedicated to the Arab Spring. The attack is the latest example of Islamist violence against Western media sources and writers who dare to mock or even discuss Islam and its prophets.

French paper Charlie Hebdo published its special edition Wednesday, marking the Arab spring and the victory of Islamist political party al-Nahda in Tunisian elections. The issue mockingly renamed itself Charia (Sharia) Hebdo, featured Mohammed as a "guest editor," and published a front-page cartoon of the prophet saying, "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter." In particular, editors acknowledged that the full-page depictions of Mohammed on the cover and back page were "quite rare," and had already provoked numerous threats online.

French officials strongly condemned the attack. "Freedom of the press is a sacred freedom in our country and everything must be done to preserve it," Interior Minister Claude Gueant told AFP. "This is why, whether we like Charlie Hebdo or not, every French person must this morning feel solidarity with a newspaper that, through its existence and the way it operates, expresses freedom of the press." Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe was "disgusted" at the bombing and termed it "an act of violence against freedom of expression."

Western media sources have been under heavy pressure to limit speech deemed offensive by Muslim nations. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the representative body of the world's Muslim countries, called the Charlie Hebdo issue "an outrageous act of incitement and hatred and abuse of freedom of expression."

Islamists have also responded with violence to silence Western media. When Danish paper Jyllands Posten published a series of Mohammed cartoons in 2005, it prompted worldwide protests, the burning of Danish embassies in Muslim countries, and attempted terror attacks on the paper and cartoonist Kurt Westergaard. In 2008, three Islamists in Britain were sentenced to four years in prison for the firebombing the home of a British publisher in response to plans for a book on the prophet's youngest wife. This came after Random House withdrew from plans to publish The Jewel of Medina, citing safety fears. In 2010, two American Islamists threatened the producers of the popular TV show "South Park," after they portrayed the Islamic prophet wearing a bear suit. One of suspects was later convicted, while another is set to face charges.

Shabaab Tape Calls for Attacks on U.S., Canada

The FBI is investigating whether a suicide bomber killed in Saturday's bombing of an African Union military base in Mogadishu is Abdisalan Ali, 22, a U.S. citizen from Minneapolis. At least 10 people died in the attack carried out by the Somali terror group al-Shabaab, which claimed responsibility in an audiotape.

On the tape, the speaker (identified as one of two suicide bombers involved in the attack) called for terrorist strikes against the United States and Canada and other places around the world. "My brothers and sisters, do jihad in America, do jihad in Canada, do jihad in England, anywhere in Europe, in Asia, in Africa, in China, in Australia," he says.

The voice urges Muslims not to become "couch potato[es]," or for that manner, doctors and engineers. "We have to believe in Allah and die as Muslims," he said.

The Canadian affiliate of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Canada) issued a statement denouncing al-Shabaab's call for terrorism. As of yesterday afternoon, CAIR's U.S. branch had not issued a statement of its own.

According to a report issued in July by the House Homeland Security Committee, at least 40 Americans have joined al-Shabaab, and at least 15 have died while in combat alongside the group. If Ali is determined to be the bomber, he would be at least the third Somali-American from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to blow himself up while fighting for al-Shabaab. Canadian officials have said that as many as 20 Canadians of Somali descent have joined the group.

The first American suicide bomber was Shirwa Ahmed of Minneapolis, who blew himself up on Oct. 29, 2008 – three years to the day before Saturday's attack. The second was Farah Mohamed Beledi, who detonated himself in Mogadishu on May 30, 2011, killing three people.

Abdislan Ali was just a few months old when he when his parents fled Somalia for Kenya. In 2000, his family, with 12 children, arrived in Seattle. They moved to Minneapolis a short time later. He attended high school there, selling shoes to help support his family. He attended the University of Minnesota, majoring in chemistry, and worked as a caseworker at a law firm.

It is unclear when Ali became a radical Islamist. He went missing on Nov. 3, 2008 and flew to Somalia the following day to join al-Shabaab. Ali was indicted in August 2010 on charges of providing material support for terrorism.

Read more about his background here.

British MP Threatened at Mosque Meeting

British Member of Parliament Mike Freer says he was forced to hide behind a locked door and wait for police during a constituency meeting at a mosque Friday. Members of the radical organization "Muslims against Crusades" had advocated targeting Freer over his outspoken friendship toward Israel and vocal concern about the safety of MPs following the stabbing of a colleague.

Protests confronted Freer prior to meeting with constituents at a north London mosque on Friday afternoon. Concerns for his safety were heightened when 12 people forced their way inside. One of them called him a "Jewish homosexual pig," while others threatened him "as a member of the Conservative Party" and said that "had the blood of thousands of Muslims on his hands."

Freer is a member of "Conservative Friends of Israel," and drew ire over a post on his website in protest over the stabbing of an MP colleague by Islamist terrorist Roshonara Choudhry. The attack on MP Stephen Timms should serve as a "piercing reminder" to politicians that "their presence is no longer welcome in any Muslim area," Freer wrote. Protesters were also upset that he campaigned against a UK visit by radical cleric Raed Salah. Salah was arrested after entering the country due to a ban imposed on him by the Home Office because of his "virulent anti-Semitism."

Following Friday's incident, MP Freer called for an investigation into "Muslims against Crusades."

"What I'm saying is the Home Office needs to be continuing to monitor this group and as soon as they overstep the mark then the full force of the law should come down on them," he stated to members of the press. The group's website has been hacked and continues to be inaccessible.

Saudi Prince Offers Reward for Israeli Soldiers

Saudi Prince Khaled bin Talal pledged an additional $900,000 to a $100,000 bounty already offered to anyone who kidnaps Israeli soldiers. Prince Khaled's promotion of terror is at odds with donations given by his brother Prince Al-Waleed, who has funded programs promoting Arab and Islamic studies in American universities.

Following a major prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, an Israeli family offered $100,000 for the killing of one released prisoner who had victimized them. The offer was met by prominent Saudi cleric Awad al-Qarni, who offered the same amount to anyone who would kidnap an Israeli soldier, to later be used exchanged for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Speaking by telephone Saturday to the Saudi al-Daleed TV station, Prince Khaled pledged the extra money to counter "Israeli threats" against the cleric's life. "I tell Sheik al-Qarani that I support you and I will pay $900,000 to make it one million dollars to capture an Israeli soldier to release other prisoners," said Prince Khaled, who holds no official position in the government.

While some members of the Saudi royal family have become major businessmen and promoters of Arab culture, including the fabulously wealthy Prince Al-Waleed, others have donated extensive sums to promoting terrorist causes and spreading radicalism.

In 2002, then Crown Prince Abdullah was thanked in person by senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, for continuing "to send aid to the [Palestinian] people through the civilian and popular channels, despite all the American pressures exerted on them." The donations haven't stopped even after the American designation of Hamas as a terrorist organization, sparking controversies in 2007 over Saudi donations to Hamas charities.

That's Going to be Some Order

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema made a pledge a year ago today.

She would decide whether the criminal contempt case against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative Sami Al-Arian would be dismissed or go to trial. Prosecutors charged Al-Arian in 2008 after he repeatedly refused to speak to a federal grand jury investigating terror financing in Northern Virginia despite a subpoena and judges' orders. Al-Arian says he was absolved of complying with any subpoena in his 2006 plea agreement for conspiracy to provide services to the PIJ.

There is nothing in Al-Arian's plea agreement alluding to anything close to his claim, prosecutors argue. And nothing was mentioned when he entered his plea before a federal magistrate in Tampa. The argument has been denied by appellate courts for the 4^th and 11^th circuits.

Brinkema canceled a hearing on the matter at the 11^th hour last year. "The Court finds that a hearing on these issues is not necessary," she wrote. "The parties have fully briefed their positions and the Court is working on an opinion which addresses all relevant issues."

That's funny, because Brinkema said something very similar in cancelling a hearing 18 months earlier:

"Because the parties have fully briefed the facts and legal contentions raised in the defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment and have previously argued similar issues before the Court, additional oral argument will not aid the decisional process … The Court will issue a written opinion on the motion in the near future."

That was 919 days ago. The court has been silent.

Al-Arian is confined to house arrest at the home of one of his children in Northern Virginia, either the victim of a misguided prosecution or as a man who got away with breaking the law.

Brinkema clearly doesn't like the case, but can't dismiss it based on the merits. She has written twice that an order is coming. Given the time that has passed, it's fair to ask whether she ever intended to act. Is that the proper behavior for a federal judge?

UK Court Rules Islamist Raed Salah Can Be Deported

An immigration tribunal in the UK ruled Tuesday that radical Islamist preacher Raed Salah should be deported from the country.

Salah, the leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, was allowed in to the UK in late June for a speaking tour due to a glitch in the country's border security system. The Home Office already has placed a ban on him, finding that his presence would "not [be] conducive to the public good." Salah was arrested and jailed several days later.

Salah contested the exclusion order and was released in late July after the High Court in London granted him conditional bail.

Salah was charged by Israel in 2003 with funding Hamas, contact with a foreign agent and money laundering. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison in 2005. Salah has also been on record for making anti-Semitic statements, including an article after 9/11 which claimed that Jews were warned not to go to work at the World Trade Center that day.

Tuesday's court ruling cites Salah's ties to Hamas and anti-Semitic statements provided by the representatives of the Secretary of State for the Home Department, including a 2007 speech Salah delivered in Jerusalem invoking the anti-Semitic blood libel.

The immigration tribunal hearing Salah's appeal concluded that "the Secretary of State was right to conclude that the words and actions" of Salah "do justify a conclusion that the Appellant's [Salah's] removal would be conducive to the public good." And, "We are satisfied that the Appellant has engaged in the unacceptable behavior of fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK."

The Home Office welcomed the decision of the court. "We will seek to deport him at the earliest opportunity," a spokesman said.

Jihadists Lie in Wait for Iraq Pullout

Iran and al-Qaida appear poised to fill the power vacuum created by the U.S. decision to withdraw remaining U.S. troops from Iraq by Dec. 31. President Obama announced that the soldiers will depart by then, leaving behind a small contingent to guard the U.S. Embassy.

The American departure sets the stage for renewed efforts by Tehran and jihadist groups to expand their power inside Iraq, potentially reversing many of the security gains made by U.S. and Iraqi forces during the past four years.

A few days after the withdrawal announcement, the Justice Department provided a new reminder of the destructive role that Iran has been playing in Iraq. DOJ announced the indictment of five people and four of their companies for smuggling U.S.-made electronic components into Iran.

Some of the parts have been used in the remote controls of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) seized by U.S. forces from Iraqi terrorists. From 2001-07, DOJ said, 60 percent of all American casualties in Iraq have been caused by the bombs, and the most deadly, sophisticated ones are produced in Iran.

The Obama administration had sought to keep several thousand troops in Iraq in non-combat and advisory roles. But after Washington and Baghdad reached an impasse over legal protections for the remaining troops, the president decided to withdraw all forces by the end of the year.

"Now we're going to have zero, which means there won't be forces to help maintain checkpoints between Kurds and Arabs," said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There are not going to be specialized forces to help the Iraqis deal with the kinds of terrorism and insurgent groups they have. We're not going to have any clear contingency basing structure that will allow us to rapidly deploy if Iraq faced a threat from Iran."

Shiite terrorist organizations began stepping up attacks already this year, with more than 40,000 troops still in Iraq, wrote security analysts Frederick Kagan and Kimberly Kagan. This included IED and rocket strikes targeting Iraqi security forces and American troops "using technologies that they had tried unsuccessfully to field in 2008 but have since perfected."

Meanwhile, Thomas Joscelyn of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies has just published a disturbing new report on Ansar al-Islam, an al-Qaida-affiliated group with a history of collaboration with Iran. Read the article here.

Released Hamas Terrorists Pledge More Violence

Two terrorists released in the Gilad Schalit exchange pledged to continue their jihad, the Middle East Media Research Institute's (MEMRI) Palestinian Media Studies Project reports.

In an interview posted online Oct. 19 and translated by MEMRI, Ahlam Tamimi expressed no regrets for her role in the suicide bombing of an Israeli restaurant. "This is the path. I dedicated myself to Jihad for the sake of Allah, and Allah granted me success," she said. "You know how many casualties there were [in the 2001 attack on the Sbarro pizzeria]? This was made possible by Allah."

Tamimi was serving 16 life sentences before she was released, one of hundreds of terrorists exchanged for Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas five years ago.

Similarly, Muhammad Abu Ataya told Al-Quds TV of Lebanon last week that he was not deterred by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's warnings to hold accountable any released prisoner who returns to terrorism.

"He can make as many warning as he likes. His warning and threats will not deter us from continuing the journey of resistance, on which we embarked decades ago," Ataya said. He also declared that he had been imprisoned for 16 life sentences for "killing spies and traitors" and "going after the herd of settlers and the Israeli army," actions which he still supported.

Hamas' threats to continue the "resistance" and suicide bombings have also been repeated elsewhere in the Arab world. Saudi cleric Awad al-Qarni offered $100,000 as a reward for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers, arguing that if Hamas could exchange one soldier for 1,000 prisoners, six additional Israelis would result in the release of all Palestinians in Israeli jails.

To fuel its terror, Hamas has also taken advantage of supplies of Libyan weapons which have become abundant since civil war rocked the North African country. Israeli daily Haaretz reports that Hamas has acquired relatively sophisticated Russian anti-aircraft missile, which were looted from Libyan storehouses during the chaos. This has prompted Israeli concern and motivated the United States to insist on strict arms controls from the new Libyan government.

Saudi Liberal Affected by Holocaust Museum Visit

After touring the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Saudi-born liberal Mansour al-Hadj described how education in his birth country did not consider the Holocaust to be a crime, but rather an ideal.

"[M]ost of what I heard was that the Jews exaggerated the number of victims, that they used the Holocaust to arouse the world's pity, and that they indisputably deserved their fate," al-Hadj wrote in an article for Saudi reformist website Aafaq. The article was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

"I did not feel any empathy toward the victims of the Holocaust, despite the atrocious things that happened to them, only because they were Jews. The word ['Jew'] was associated in my mind with negative qualities like deceit, enmity, racism, miserliness, and going back on one's word," he added. He was instead taught the ideas of scholars like the Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who praised the Holocaust and prayed that "Allah willing, the next time [this happens, it] will be at the hands of the believers."

Saudi authorities repeatedly refused to make the Holocaust part of national studies, al-Hadj wrote, but instead "continue to incite to violence and hatred against non-Muslims in general and Jews in particular." Currently, Saudi textbooks teach that there is an eternal conflict between "heresy and faith" and between the Muslims and Jews that will end in the destruction of one of the religions.

A lack of education about the Holocaust and similar crimes has desensitized Saudi society from the prejudices that led to state-sanctioned hate, al-Hadj wrote. Hatred toward foreigners in the kingdom resembled the ostracizing of Jews practiced by the Nazis, particularly the portrayal of foreigners as "plundering all the good of the land."

"From my visit to the museum, I learned that what happened to the Jews was a human tragedy in the full sense of the word, and that it is a grave mistake to deny it, to downplay its horror, or to justify it, and that all people must work together so that it will never happen again to any nation in the world," he wrote. With such an education, Saudi kids could play a role in a better future "in which tolerance, mutual understanding, and respect will prevail."

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