Top counterterrorism official Kent resigns over Trump's Iran war, says Iran posed no imminent threat
President Donald Trump is pushing back against claims by the director of the National Counterterrorism Center about the motivations for the Iran war. In announcing his resignation Tuesday, Joe Kent claimed Iran "posed no imminent threat" to the United States. Trump says Iran is a "tremendous threat." Kent also says it's clear the U.S. started the war "due to pressure from Israel." The Republican president previously has denied Israel forced the U.S. to act. Kent is a former Washington state political candidate with connections to right-wing extremists. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent was in charge of an agency tasked with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there's no imminent threat to the state from Iran. ABC News says the FBI warned California that Iran had aspired to send drones to the West Coast in retaliation for war. The FBI later released text of the alert, which noted that the information was based on "unverified information." The White House now says, "No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists." Newsom says California and various agencies plan for worst-case scenarios. Police in Los Angeles and San Francisco say they are monitoring world events for any risks.
Pakistani officials say a suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others. It was a rare attack in the capital of Pakistan as its Western-allied government struggles to rein in a surge in militant attacks across the country. Some of the wounded in the attack on the sprawling mosque of Khadija Al-Kubra were reported to be in critical condition. Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the wounded to nearby hospitals. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Militant groups across Pakistan often target security forces and civilians.
Iran says it has had summoned all of the European Union ambassadors in the country to protest the bloc's listing of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror group. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists on Monday that the ambassadors had been summoned the previous day. The EU listed the Guard as a terror group last week over its part in the crackdown on nationwide protests in January. The move is largely symbolic. But it does add to the economic pressure squeezing Iran.
President Donald Trump's administration has made good on its pledge to label three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on them. The Treasury and State departments announced the actions Tuesday against the Lebanese, Jordanian and Egyptian chapters of the Muslim Brotherhood, which they say pose a risk to the United States. The State Department has designated the Lebanese branch a foreign terrorist organization, the most severe of the labels. This makes it a criminal offense to provide material support to the group. The Jordanian and Egyptian branches are listed by Treasury as specially designated global terrorists for providing support to Hamas. Muslim Brotherhood leaders have said they renounce violence.
The FBI says it disrupted a New Year's Eve attack plot in North Carolina, arresting an 18-year-old who allegedly pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group. Christian Sturdivant is charged with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. Authorities say he shared attack plans with an undercover FBI employee. Sturdivant was arrested Wednesday and remains in custody. An attorney representing him did not respond Friday to requests seeking comment. The investigation began last month after authorities linked Sturdivant to a social media account that posted content supportive of IS.
Australian police documents reveal that a man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach conducted firearms training with his father. The documents, released Monday, followed Naveed Akram's court appearance. Officers wounded Akram and killed his father during the December 14th shooting. The attack began with failed explosive devices at a Jewish event. Police described the devices as "viable" IEDs. Akram faces 59 charges, including murder and terrorism. The New South Wales government introduced draft laws to tighten gun restrictions. An impromptu memorial at Bondi Beach was removed Monday. The Sydney Jewish Museum will preserve part of the memorial.
Police in Nigeria say gunmen have abducted 25 girls from a high school in the country's northwestern Kebbi state. At least one member of staff at the school was killed in the attack. No group has claimed responsibility. A police spokesperson says the raid happened at 4 a.m. on Monday and that the girls were taken from their dorms. The boarding school is in Maga, in the state's Danko-Wasagu area. This is the latest in a series of abductions from schools in northern Nigeria, where armed groups have been targeting schoolchildren since 2014.
