On April 14, 2024, Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to Israel's April 1 targeted strike against an Iranian consular building in Damascus, Syria, which resulted in the deaths of three senior commanders and four officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force. Those killed include General Mohammed Reza Zahedi, who oversaw Iranian covert operations in Syria and Lebanon. The April 14 attack is the first time Tehran has attacked Israel directly from Iranian soil, rather than via proxy militias.
Tehran's attack against Israel has energized the neo-Nazi and white supremacist landscape; many are praising Iran for the attack, and reveling in the fact that Israel was being held accountable for its actions both in the Gaza Strip and in the Middle East, as well as abstractly through its perceived infiltration of the U.S. government and its elite institutions. Others still accused Israel of seeking to drag the U.S. into a wider regional conflict that would force Americans to fight and die for Israel.
The following report provides an overview of neo-Nazi and white supremacist reactions to Iran's April 14 assault against Israel.
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U.S.-Based Neo-Nazis And White Supremacists Praise Iran; Claim Israel Is Intentionally Seeking To Draw U.S. Into Regional Conflict
Discussions among U.S.-based neo-Nazis and white supremacists online consisted primarily of praise for Tehran and its actions, while asserting that Israel was seeking to ignite a larger regional war that would involve the U.S. - and therefore affect the U.S. electorate - in its favor in the middle of a presidential election year.
On April 13, a neo-Nazi Telegram channel posted comments asserting that Israel was seeking to draw the U.S. into a regional war in the Middle East. The post read: "If America was smart they would stay out of it, but the system is dominated by ZOG. Biden is allegedly on the phone with Israel talking about retaliation already. Never forget Israel started this fight when they attacked the Iranian embassy in Syria. That's forbidden under international law. Not that that's ever stopped (((them)))."
The channel continued, on the same day, to contend that waning international support towards Israel, particularly among civilians in western countries, as a result of the civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip created an ideal opportunity for Iran to strike Israel. The post read, "Iran is saying that if Israel retaliates for this attack that the next punishment will be immediate and more severe. Iran has ignored frequent Israeli provocations that the Israeli's only make because they want to goad Iran into a war with America. Now that Israel has had it's crimes and lies exposed in real time for 6 months, it's the best time for Iran to strike."
The channel went on to post a statement praising Iran on Telegram on April 13. The Telegram post read: "Hail Iran, the only actual state that refuses to compromise and accept (((their))) control. I wish ONE of Our Homelands would grow ONE ball and say no to (((them))) for a change. Get your shit together, start getting active, organize with Our People, let's take these countries back."
A white supremacist account also posted on Gab on April 14. Their message read: "A Jewish state claiming the title 'Israel' desperately wants a massive war in 2024 to impact the US electorate. Not the election, mind you. They already know who will win - as they did in 2020, when Netanyahu called Joe Biden to congratulate him before Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona were determined. But they need to inspire misguided Evangelical worship of Jewish Supremacy.
They continued: "Thus, their continued provocation of their neighbors. For months, 'Israel' has launched missiles into Syria and Lebanon, attacked Iranian diplomatic missions, and brutally murdered Palestinian civilians - both Muslims and Christians. A minor drone test by Iran is hardly the attack the Jewish state wants. They want a big war and they want your sons to fight that war for them… The Iranians are not tearing down Southern monuments, arresting White protesters, targeting Christian institutions, or keeping a wide open Southern border invasion going. Those are the acts of Jews in power within the US."
The white supremacist Telegram channel of a now defunct white supremacist grassroots political party also posted on April 13. The post read, "Iran has the right to defend itself."
International Neo-Nazis And White Supremacists Assert That Israel, Not Iran, Is Behaving In A Terrorist Fashion
Among international neo-Nazis and white supremacists, praise for Tehran's actions was universal. Many condemned the governments of their own countries for pledging support for Israel, asserting that it is not Iran that is behaving in a terrorist fashion but rather Israel. Still others asserted that Israel was intentionally seeking to spark a regional war in the Middle East that would result in intervention by western countries.
On Telegram, a Russian fascist and militarist channel published a post, on April 14, concerning Iran's strike on Israel. The post criticizes the parties for insufficient cruelty and warmongering: "Talkers and wankers exchange unprecedented doomsday strikes with each other! (...) Both sides reek of weakness and indecision. It is as if they had committed some sacrilegious sacrilege by calling it a war." The post urges Israel and Iran to engage in bloodshed and conflict.
On Telegram, an Irish neo-Nazi channel posted, a graphic on April 13 showing a map of Iran, with text above it reading, "Breaking News Now! Iran Has Launched An Attack On Israel." The channel wrote, "The first time that Iran has attacked Israel directly from Iranian soil. This is what Israel wanted, brought about by bombing the Iranian consulate in Damascus contrary to International law. Biden is currently meeting with his emergency war cabinet. These evil Jews do not mind starting WW3 over their maniacal plans for world domination."
A Polish neo-Nazi channel posted on April 13 on Telegram, an image of Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of the Catholic nationalist PiS party, which governed Poland for the last eight years, next to Ruhollah Khomeini. The Polish and Iranian flags are in the background, separated by a dove. The image features the text: "Tehran-Warsaw: Common Cause!"
A Spanish neo-Nazi channel posted a video on Telegram on April 15, of Iran's recent attack on Israel, writing: "April 14. Early morning. Iran's testimonial response, 99% nullified by Israel's Iron Shield and by the anti-missile devices of the U.S., Great Britain and France. Although the material damage was minimal, the Iranian attack represents a qualitative leap, since it was carried out directly by Iran, from Iranian soil, and not through its Lebanese allies – Hizbullah. Iran stands at the true core of the 'axis of the Resistance,' made up of Hizbullah, the Houthis of Yemen, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Syria. Seeing the two sides – the U.S., Great Britain, France and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran, Syria, Hizbullah, Houthis, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, on the other – for the Nationalists we have no choice but to support the 'axis of the Resistance,' if only for the sake of 'the enemy of your enemy is your friend.'"
The Dutch branch of the international white supremacist "White Lives Matter" movement posted, on Telegram on April 14, several short clips from WLM sticker distribution campaigns throughout the Netherlands. The channel wrote: "It's spring again, so finally time to go outside, right Mr. bedroom nationalist? Or are you waiting for WW3 now that the war between Iran and Israel has broken out? There is already a battle being fought where you are needed; a battle for our people."
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