A disturbing new report from researchers at George Washington University reveals that Iranian operatives in the United States are funding and fueling hate on college campuses while spreading propaganda nationwide. They even manage to meet with American political figures sympathetic to their cause.

One of the more troubling images in the report shows Vice President Kamala Harris engaging warmly with an imam closely tied to the Iranian regime’s influence operations.

Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, who was born in Iran and once headed the Iranian Navy’s political office in the 1980s, has longstanding connections to his home country. He has publicly praised Iran’s violent founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and expressed his unwavering support for Hezbollah, even claiming he would die for their cause.

Harris interacted with Elahi during a vaccination event at Detroit’s TCF Center (now renamed Huntington Place) in July 2021, and was scheduled to visit his controversial Islamic House of Wisdom in Dearborn, Michigan, before her trip was abruptly canceled due to a flood, according to the organization’s website.

“Imam Elahi joined the vaccination mobilization event addressed by Vice President Harris, Governor [Gretchen] Whitmer . . . and a group of state and national political leaders,” the nonprofit proudly stated, alongside photos of a smiling Elahi with Harris.

“Talking with VP Harris, the imam congratulated the administration for their great achievements in fighting COVID 19 and advancing the vaccination services,” the nonprofit continued. “Vice President Harris thanked Imam Elahi and IHW for their preparation to host her at the House of Wisdom.”

This encounter underscored the extent to which Iran’s malicious influence has infiltrated the U.S., even reaching the highest levels of government. This revelation comes from the recent explosive report by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.

The report highlights the Alavi Foundation, a radical group based in Manhattan, which was once accused by federal prosecutors of being a secret front for the Iranian government. The foundation has funneled nearly $500,000 to Elahi’s Islamic House of Wisdom since 2000, as well as nearly $1.9 million to U.S. universities, including Columbia, according to tax records obtained by The Post.

“Democrats hold a dangerously mistaken notion that Iran is part of the solution — not the main problem in the Middle East. This leads them to outreach here in the U.S. with Muslims tied to that tyrannical theocracy like Mohammad Ali Elahi,” Jim Hanson, chief editor of the Middle East Forum, a D.C.-based think tank, told The Post. “Obama, Biden and Harris have all enabled and even funded their efforts.”

Neither Elahi, the Alavi Foundation, nor the Harris campaign responded to requests for comment.

Elahi, who is now 68, continues to maintain strong ties to the Iranian regime.

He regularly shares photos on social media of meetings with former Iranian presidents, including Ali Akbar Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Hassan Rouhani, and the recently deceased Ebrahim Raisi, according to the report.

Elahi once referred to the infamous architect of the 1979 hostage crisis, Ayatollah Khomeini, as “an exceptional religious authority” and was photographed alongside the zealot.

Elahi has also voiced his admiration for Hezbollah, a terrorist group responsible for the deaths of 241 Americans in 1983, and which continues to be in conflict with Israel after the October 7, 2023 massacre.

“If my blood would help the liberation of Lebanon, I would give my blood to liberate Lebanon,” Elahi stated in an interview with an Arabic newspaper in Michigan.

“The war that Netanyahu and his terrorist cult have started against Lebanon will never succeed,” Elahi proclaimed in September, following Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leaders. “I hope to see Netanyahu and his criminal cabinet in jail soon. And if they escape justice in this world, for sure they won’t escape the HELL next.”

In 1991, Elahi was tasked with overseeing American Hezbollah branches and promoting Tehran’s influence among Shiite communities, according to the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Elahi is also affiliated with the Ahl Al-Bayt World Assembly (ABWA), an Iranian-based group founded by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 1994. The group has connections in about 90 countries and seeks to extend Iran’s influence through collaboration with academic institutions, civil rights organizations, and charitable groups.

Elahi is the only identifiable American member of ABWA’s general assembly and has attended its leadership meetings in Iran, as reported by GWU.

Although ABWA cannot operate directly within the United States due to sanctions, it arranges trips for American academics to Iran, where they meet with regime leaders and undergo training in Qom, Iran’s religious capital, according to the GWU report.

Despite his close ties to Tehran, Elahi has successfully ingratiated himself with prominent American Democrats.

In addition to Harris, he has been photographed with former Secretary of State John Kerry and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The GWU report also names Michigan Senator Gary Peters, Representative Debbie Dingell, and the late Representative John Conyers as individuals who have interacted with Elahi.

Elahi is also a regular donor to Democratic candidates through the fundraising platform ActBlue, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The report also highlights the Alavi Foundation’s significant role in supporting Elahi’s activities.

In 2008, the Department of Justice accused Alavi of secretly serving as a front for the Iranian government, facilitating millions of dollars to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

Since 2000, the foundation has donated at least $486,810 to Elahi’s Islamic House of Wisdom, according to Alavi’s tax records.

The group has also contributed roughly $1.9 million to U.S. universities over the years, including institutions that have become hotbeds of anti-Israel sentiment, such as Harvard, Columbia, and Hunter College.

In June, Elahi signed a letter to Wayne State University leaders urging them to engage with radical campus groups like Students for Justice in Palestine.

In July, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines confirmed that “Iranian government actors have sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza,” providing financial support to protesters.

Lara Burns, a lead researcher for the GWU report, agreed with Haines’ assessment.

“We are tracking that [DNI] report and have seen messaging in protest activities consistent with support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, and even Iranian regime leaders have openly praised the activity,” Burns said.

Alavi is central to a widespread campaign designed to sway the American public, the report’s researchers revealed.

“The New York-based Alavi Foundation is arguably the most prolific actor in the spread of Iranian regime influence in the United States,” the GWU report states. “With its multimillion-dollar budget, it either directly owns or funds through grants, no-interest loans, and donations a broad array of mosques and entities nationwide that disseminate Tehran’s viewpoint.”

Farshid Jahedi, Alavi’s former president, was sentenced to three months in prison in 2010 after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice and destroying documents concerning Alavi’s ties to Iran’s Bank Melli.

“For decades, the Iranian regime has worked closely with far-left, far-right, and Islamist groups across Europe and North America,” Sam Westrop, director of the Middle East Forum’s Islamist Watch project, told The Post in August. “Following the October 7th attacks . . . Tehran has poured money and logistical support into anti-Israel and pro-terror rallies, encampments, and civil disorder. We’ve uncovered evidence of this in Houston, where the Iranian regime appears to operate mosques, activist and student groups that are deeply involved in pro-terror demonstrations, alongside Hamas-aligned groups.”

Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) voiced strong condemnation of Iran’s destructive influence after being briefed on the report.

“We need an administration that has the backbone to reject Iran’s propaganda that undermines America and espouses antisemitic views. America must stand up to terrorists, not cower to the ayatollah at every turn.”

{Matzav.com}