The New York Post has reported that Kamala Harris met with Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi in 2021. Elahi is an Iranian Shi’ite imam in Michigan funded by the Iran-linked Alavi Foundation.
The Alavi Foundation claims to fund Iranian studies in academic institutions and promote and support Islamic initiatives, but it has been long suspected of being a vehicle for Iran to circumvent sanctions and influence public opinion in the U.S. Its former president was convicted in court in 2008 for destroying evidence while the organization was under investigation, and the U.S. government has seized some of its assets due to links with Iran.
The Alavi Foundation has given money to prominent U.S. institutions, including Harvard, Columbia, Rutgers, and the Clinton Foundation.
Another way it influences politics in America is by funding pro-Iran mosques operated by people like Elahi.
Elahi used to serve in the political-ideological office in Iran’s military, which is the indoctrination department. Now, he’s funded by the Alavi Foundation, which used to belong to the government of Iran under the Shah and has been long suspected of continuing to be an arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution.
Here in the U.S., Elahi has not been shy about his views. Ironic since his paymasters back in Iran definitely don’t allow freedom of speech for Iranians. Here’s Elahi from one interview:
We need to have another interview talking about whether Hezbollah is a terrorist organization or not. I know that legally in the U.S. now, Hezbollah is on that list.… They (Hezbollah) were resisting against [Israeli] occupation. I think that is something that is supported even with our government.
Until 9/11, Hezbollah had killed more Americans than any other terrorist organization.
Elahi has also attacked Donald Trump for killing Iran’s terrorist general, Qassem Soleimani, compared the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with Hitler, and called Israel a terrorist cult.
Elahi also meets with Iranian politicians, including the president of Iran, when they visit the United States.
What Iran might be doing here is not new. The Russian Orthodox Church is widely known to be an arm of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Putin uses the church to promote his policies inside and outside of Russia. These churches and priests also defend the Russian regime and excuse the war in Ukraine. He also uses the churches’ priests abroad as his agents and spies, the same way that people accuse Iran of using Shi’ite imams across the world.
Now that we know that Harris met with this Iranian imam, imagine if Trump had met with a Russian Orthodox priest or bishop who is suspected of being a Russian agent. And add that this priest used to work as an indoctrination officer in the Russian military before moving to the U.S.
There are differences, of course. Trump talks softly about Russia, but it was he who for the first time provided lethal aid to Ukraine, not Democrats. The Javelins and Patriots that saved Kyiv from falling were sent there by Trump, not Democrats. He also expelled a bunch of Russian diplomats weeks into office for spying in the U.S. and prevented the building of the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline (which Biden gave the green light for). His policies were actually quite tough on Russia.
Harris, on the other hand, said that Iran is the greatest U.S. adversary. But the Biden–Harris administration is funding Iran by de facto lifting sanctions on Iran. They are also not allowing Israel to go all in on Iran and its proxies in the Middle East. Harris’s Jewish outreach liaison is Ilan Goldenberg, who made his career by being a propagandist for the Iran nuclear deal that dumped a quarter of Iran’s GDP on Iran.
The difference is that people keep accusing Trump of being Putin’s tool even though he was very tough on Russia. But Harris, who has been 1/10th as hard on Iran as Trump was on Russia, has met with a possible Iranian agent, and nobody cares.
This is despite the fact that there is more ground on policy to suspect that something fishy is going on with Democrats and Iran.
Now, people are going to say, “But Trump invites these suspicions with what he says.” Sure. He does, with what he says. And Harris invites them by what she does, and actions talk louder than words. So where’s the outrage?
Note: the opinions expressed herein are those of Chuck Warren only and not his co-host Sam Stone or Breaking Battlegrounds’ staff.
