This week’s Action Update is chock full of vital information not well covered in the mainstream media. For example, American troops are going to be risking their lives in the Persian Gulf soon. Iran’s terrorist tentacles are reaching into UK schools. And some very positive steps forward have occurred in support of bills associated with CUFI’s 2023 Summit Legislative agenda. So, let’s dive right in.

US to Protect Ships in the Persian Gulf

Iran’s efforts to spread mayhem, death, and destruction throughout the globe, know no bounds. There’s “traditional” terror, there’s the Islamic Republic’s nuclear weapons program, and, as regular readers of the update are aware, Iran likes to seize vessels traversing the Persian Gulf.

In particular, the Staits of Hormuz – the only sea passage between the Persian Gulf and the open ocean - which are just twenty-one nautical miles at their narrowest point, is effectively a choke point in the Gulf that provides Iranian pirates (because that’s what they are) an opportunity to seize foreign flagged ships. This is of particular strategic importance as around 20-30 percent of the world’s oil (well over 20 million barrels of oil each day), travel through the Staits via large oil tankers.

The world’s energy supply – which is already strained because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – should not endure further shocks to the system because of continued Iranian terrorist piracy. As such, the United States is now considering embedding American troops on commercial vessels traveling through the Straits.

We believe that such actions may very well be necessary and support US efforts to ensure vital shipping lanes are protected against Iran’s belligerence.

Iran to UK Students: Join “Apocalyptic War” Against Jews

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is encouraging Iranian students in the UK to engage in violence against British Jews. While this is just coming to light, the UK’s Jewish Chronicle found that no less than eight IRGC leaders have spoken to student groups in the UK in the past two-and-a-half years.

It’s worth noting that Iran didn’t come up with this on their own. China has been seeking to influence American students by using the openness of the American campus environment for years. Iran appears to simply be taking a page out of the Chinese playbook, albeit putting their own violent spin on the infiltration strategy.  

The question raised is therefore straightforward: Will the UK and the US recognize the Iranian threat inside our borders and address it accordingly? Given the immense tide of antisemitism sweeping across the nation, if the Iranian infiltration of Western universities is not addressed, the Islamic Republic may find fertile ground for American recruits. Moreover, that’s not where it ends.

On Sunday, the UK’s Home Secretary, whose agency is responsible for security inside the United Kingdom, said the following: “The Iranian threat is the one that worries us the most.” Her comment is not terribly surprising given that in February it was reported that Iran had attempted 15 different terror attacks in Britain over the previous 12 months.

So where does this leave us? The Secretary’s assessment and Iran’s efforts on UK campuses come at a pivotal moment in UK-Iran relations. For months there has been a battle behind the scenes wherein the folks responsible for the safety and security of innocent Britons want to ban the IRGC in its entirety and label it a terrorist organization. Conversely, the UK Foreign Office (akin to the U.S. State Department) is worried that acknowledging the IRGC for who they are, terrorists with state-sponsored uniforms and weapons, would offend Iran.

Obviously, we’re with the Home Secretary on this. We don’t care about offending Iran – especially not when there are lives at risk. Moreover, as the Brits should know better than anyone, appeasement doesn’t work (if they’re not sure, they can just Google “Chamberlain and Hitler”). Iran’s leadership has been clear when speaking about their contempt of the West, the international community needs to listen. Diplomacy with Iran is one-sided and the consequences of naivete are great.

Moving the Ball Down the Field

It’s been just a week since we last reported on the status of the bills that make up that CUFI 2023 Legislative Agenda and yet we’ve got more good news. As of this writing, we have added a number of cosponsors to the CHAI Act, including several Democrats with one, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), agreeing to serve as the bill’s Democratic co-leader.

In other good news, we’ve now increased the number of cosponsors to the SHIP Act by more than 55 Members of Congress since the CUFI Washington Summit. This brings the total number of bipartisan cosponsors on this bill to 131 in the House and 14 in the Senate.

As a nonpartisan organization focused exclusively on standing with Israel and combating antisemitism, we are extremely pleased to see members of both parties lining up to support these commonsense bills. But, no matter what, these are going to be challenging, uphill battles. As such, we’ll keep our readers updated on the status of our legislation and may highlight any elected officials that are causing issues for these mainstream bills. So, be sure to check back next week to stay in the loop.

Sincerely,

The CUFI Action Fund Team