Two Members of Iranian Proxy Group Charged With Planning Terror Attacks in the United States

As the events of last week were still fresh in Tehran, two Hezbollah operatives–Hezbollah is Iran’s proxy force in Lebanon and it is funded and led by the Iranian regime– were indicted for planning terror attacks on the United States.

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Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx, New York, and Samer el Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Michigan, aka, “Samer Eldebek,” were arrested on Thursday, June 1, on charges related to their alleged activities on behalf of Hizballah, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Based on other taskings from [Islamic Jihad Organization (“IJO”)] personnel, which were conveyed during periodic in-person meetings when Kourani returned to Lebanon, Kourani conducted operations that included searching for weapons suppliers in the U.S. who could provide firearms to support IJO operations, identifying individuals affiliated with the Israeli Defense Force, gathering information regarding operations and security at airports in the U.S. and elsewhere, and surveilling U.S. military and law enforcement facilities in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Kourani transmitted some of the products of his surveillance and intelligence-gathering efforts back to IJO personnel in Lebanon using digital storage media.

El Debek also conducted missions for Hizballah in Thailand and Panama. In May 2009, el Debek traveled from Lebanon, through Malaysia, to Thailand, where his mission was to clean up explosive precursors in a house in Bangkok that others had left because they were under surveillance. El Debek used his U.S. passport to enter and leave Thailand, consistent with his instructions from Hizballah to use his U.S. passport so he could travel from Malaysia to Thailand without obtaining a visa.

El Debek first traveled to Panama for Hizballah in 2011, where his operational tasks included locating the U.S. and Israeli Embassies, casing security procedures at the Panama Canal and the Israeli Embassy, and locating hardware stores where explosive precursors could be purchased…

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The next time Bernie Sanders says we should not be voting on Iranian sanctions because of a terror attack in Tehran, ask him why the hell not. And the next time someone claims that Russian meddling in the 2016 election was an “act of war,” ask them why planning attacks on US soil isn’t.

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