Notes on The Heritage Foundation, Trump’s Son-in-Law, and Albania

Earlier, I had forgotten to mention that the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian dissident group backed by the U.S. and Israel, is based in Albania. Additionally, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is also attempting to develop a luxury resort on Sazan Island in Albania. Sibel Edmonds has been investigating the Kushner-Albanian connection on her Patreon, although I haven’t been following it closely. Seeing DeSmog’s revelation that the Heritage Foundation had attempted to influence the latest Albania election prompted me to think about it, but it slipped my mind when I made that post. It’s worth noting that Kushner has ties to both George Soros and Peter Thiel. As George Carlin famously said, “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.”

On a related note, since Sibel came up: Nima of Dialogue Works reported that Graham Fuller has died. Fuller was a key figure in the early establishment of “East Turkestan.” He authored a 1998 RAND report titled The Xinjiang Project, later revised in 2003 as The Xinjiang Problem, outlining the strategic value of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the broader effort to encircle China.

Report: Kurdish Fighters Have Been Entering Iran From Iraq and Clashing With the IRGC

Report: Kurdish Fighters Have Been Entering Iran From Iraq and Clashing With the IRGC

By Dave DeCamp | The Libertarian Institute | January 14, 2026

Turkish intelligence has warned Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Kurdish fighters have been entering Iran from Iraq amid protests inside Iran, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The US has a significant presence in Iraqi Kurdistan, including a military base and an $800 million consulate compound that it opened in December. The Israeli Mossad is also known for having a presence in the area, and Iran claimed that it attacked a Mossad base in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2024.

Previously:

Trump Has Strong Options for Iran /Alastair Crooke & Lt Col Daniel Davis

These are the same Iraqi Kurds for whom the U.S. established the post‑1991 autonomous zone. Erbil Governorate sits on the Iran‑facing side of Iraqi Kurdistan. The U.S. operates Harir Air Base there (active since 2003) and maintains the largest consulate compound in the world. This is a forward U.S. position on Iran’s border. The U.S./Coalition also has units in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, which likewise borders Iran.

Iranian Opposition Emboldened by Trump 2.0

I’ve been keeping up with their multiple YouTube channels, and they’ve really ramped up their activity lately.

Alireza Jafarzadeh (Spokesman for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran – PMOI):

New Era for Iran Is Within Reach

Last month, over 160 bipartisan U.S. lawmakers for H.Res.166, which supports the Ten-Point Platform for the Future of Iran introduced by Mrs. Rajavi that calls for universal right to vote, free elections, a market economy, and separation of religion and state, and advocates gender, religious, and ethnic equality, a foreign policy based on peaceful coexistence, peace in the Middle East, and a nonnuclear Republic of Iran.

Related:

H.Res. 166: Expressing support for the Iranian people’s desires

Maryam Rajavi’s Ten Point Plan for the Future of Iran

Concerns over MEK’s potential Influence in Congress + More

Trump 2.0’s Incoming Ukraine Envoy Speaks at Event Hosted by Cult That Wants Regime Change in Iran

Trump’s pick for Sec. Of State Marco Rubio’s love affair with Israel, MKO, Pahlavi’s

The Cult-Like Group Fighting Iran

MEK/MKO/NCRI/PMOI

Trump 2.0’s Incoming Ukraine Envoy Speaks at Event Hosted by Cult That Wants Regime Change in Iran

Source

Keith Kellogg told the MEK-hosted event that the world must reinstate ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran

Trump’s Incoming Ukraine Envoy Speaks at Event Hosted by Cult That Wants Regime Change in Iran

Related:

‘A breach of intl. law’: Iran condemns France for hosting terrorist gathering

The American mainstream media suppresses the assassination of six US advisors by the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK)

US-Delisted MEK Terrorists Still Openly Committed to Violence

Mojahedin Khalq began their terror campain by killing Americans

US Special Forces Trained Foreign Terrorists In Nevada To Fight Iran

PMOI/MKO/MEK

Trump’s pick for Sec. Of State Marco Rubio’s love affair with Israel, MKO, Pahlavi’s

Source

Marco Rubio, a Republican foreign policy hawk tapped by Donald Trump to lead the US Department of State in his new administration, is known for his confrontational stance toward Iran and close ties with anti-Iran groups.

Trump’s pick for Sec. Of State Marco Rubio’s love affair with Israel, MKO, Pahlavi’s

Related:

What is Really Behind Iran’s Unrest?

Trump nominates Marco Rubio as Secretary of State + More

PMOI/MKO/MEK

Donors to Bob Menendez Legal Defense Linked to ex-Terror Group

Disclosure: it’s a reprint of an article by Eli Clifton from The Responsible Statecraft and The Intercept. If you have a problem with that, this is for you.

Donors to Bob Menendez Legal Defense Linked to ex-Terror Group (archived)

Much of the cash in the fund — he has raised over $400,000 — comes from sources one might anticipate. New Jersey and New York donors with various business and political interests in his home state, including the real estate firm led by Jared Kushner’s family, have given the fund money. There are, however, many lesser-known donors. One is Ahmad Moeinimanesh, an electronic engineer from Northern California. Another is Hossein Afshari, also from California.

Related:

Iranian exiles, DC lobbyists and the campaign to delist the MEK

The Iranian American Community of Northern California. It paid $400,000 over the past year to a Washington lobby group, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, to work on Capitol Hill to work for the removal of the MEK from the list of foreign terrorist organisations. The company assigned several former members of Congress to the account. The IACNC has also organised events in support of unbanning the MEK with appearances by Ros-Lehtinen and other prominent members of Congress as well as former White House officials.

Its director, Ahmad Moeinimanesh, has made personal financial donations to Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the chair of the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee even though her congressional district is on the other side of the country in Florida, as well as to her reelection committee. She has accepted more than $20,000 in political contributions from activists who support the MEK’s delisting.

The IACNC’s registered address is at a photocopying shop in Albany, California, owned by Behnam Mirabdal who has made financial donations to Ros-Lehtinen and Dana Rohrabacher, a subcommittee chairman who is among the most vigorous proponents of unbanning the MEK.

The American mainstream media suppresses the assassination of six US advisors by the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK)