Date: Wednesday, December 4, 2019
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer, Director

Iran's Threat To America

As we have repeatedly noted, Iran is an existential threat to Israel. The supreme leader of the Iranian regime, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, routinely calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state. But Iran is also a threat to the United States.

Case in point: Ali Kourani, a Hezbollah operative, was sentenced yesterday to 40 years in prison. He faced multiple charges, including helping Hezbollah "prepare for potential future attacks against the United States."

It should be noted that Kourani wasn't convicted in Israel, Egypt, Jordan or Saudi Arabia. He was convicted in New York City.

Kourani came to the United States as a teenager in 2003. He went to college here and earned an MBA in 2013. But at some point around 2008, he became radicalized and was recruited by Hezbollah. He was arrested this summer, along with Samer el Debek, of Dearborn, Michigan. Several weeks ago, federal prosecutors also charged Alexei Saab of Morristown, New Jersey, with nine counts of aiding Hezbollah.

Prior to 9/11, Hezbollah, Iran's terrorist proxy, was responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any other terrorist group. It was Hezbollah that carried out the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon. And Iran even plotted to bomb a crowded restaurant in Washington, D.C.

We have also known for many years that Hezbollah was working with drug cartels "funneling cocaine into the United States." Who knows how many Americans Hezbollah has killed through the drug trade.

The Islamic Republic is not just a threat to the Jewish state of Israel. It is a threat to its Arab neighbors in the Middle East, to Europe and to the United States. Never forget that Iran refers to the United States, not Israel, as "the great Satan."

Speaking to reporters today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his strong support for President Trump's campaign of "maximum pressure" against the Iranian regime. Here are some excerpts of his remarks:

"I think President Trump has placed tremendous pressures and sanctions on Iran. We're seeing the Iranian empire totter. We see demonstrations in Tehran, demonstrations in Baghdad, demonstrations in Beirut. It's important to increase this pressure against Iranian aggression. . .

"While people are risking their lives and dying on the streets of Tehran, [some European countries] are giving sustenance and support to this tyrannical regime. The tyrants of Tehran should not be supported now. They should be pressured."