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Cruz urges Princeton to take action over professor accused of pro-Iran allegiances, citing risk to students
EXCLUSIVE – Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz called on his alma mater, Princeton University, to dismiss a former high-level Iranian regime official because he is allegedly making students feel unsafe amid recent outbreaks of antisemitism at the New Jersey university.
The ex-official for the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who is a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at the university, is under pressure on many fronts from congressional representatives, Princeton students and experts on antisemitism.
«Mousavian is closely linked to the Iranian regime and to the regime’s campaigns of terrorism and murder. His presence at Princeton makes students feel justifiably afraid for their safety. Princeton’s decision to keep employing him shows they care less about their students, and more about providing a platform for pro-regime and anti-American propaganda. That kind of reckless institutional ideological bias is exactly why the Trump administration is reassessing federal funding for Princeton,» Cruz told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.
ACTIVIST SPEAKS OUT AFTER IRAN TRIES TO KILL HER
Students, some faculty and outsiders gathered on the lawns outside the Princeton chapel to protest Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, April 25, 2024. (Mary Ann Koruth / Imagn)
Fox News Digital previously reported that Mousavian expressed support for the U.S.-designated terrorist movements, Hamas and Hezbollah, and appeared to pay tribute to the global Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani in 2020 when he attended his funeral.
President Donald Trump ordered a drone strike to eliminate Soleimani in January 2020 for his role in the murders of over 600 American military personnel in the Middle East and his planning of new terrorist attacks.
Mousavian has declined to renounce his support for Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s fatwa (religious decree) to assassinate the British-American writer Salman Rushdie.
A Hezbollah flag was on display during a Princeton student protest encampment against Israel last year. The Iran-backed Hezbollah was responsible for a 1983 bombing that murdered 241 U.S. military members in Beirut.
Maximillian Meyer, president of Princeton Tigers for Israel, and an undergraduate at the university, told Fox News Digital, «I commend Sen. Cruz for raising urgent concerns about Princeton’s employment of Mousavian, whose career has been defined by shilling for the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. Credible reports linking Mousavian to the oversight of Iranian dissident assassinations in Europe – alongside his endorsement of the fatwa on Salman Rushdie – are deeply alarming.»
INCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION GIVEN NEW BLUEPRINT ON WAYS TO WEAKEN IRAN: ‘UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY’
Seyed Hossein Mousavian, , who was then head of the Iranian delegation, speaks to journalists at the International Atomic Energy Agency, Nov. 29, 2004 in Vienna. Mousavian is presently a Middle East security and nuclear policy specialist at Princeton. (Robert Newald/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital first reported in November 2023 that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce launched an investigation into Mousavian’s role in advancing the interests of the clerical regime in Tehran.
During Mousavian’s tenure as Iran’s ambassador to Germany, he was in charge of the embassy that a German court found «served as the ‘headquarters’ for the planning of the 1992 assassination of four Iranian dissidents at the Greek restaurant Mykonos in Berlin.»
However, the former Iranian ambassador previously told Fox News Digital that «This accusation is a big lie,» and «The 398-page verdict is published, and everyone can have access to it. The Berlin court verdict does not contain any direct or indirect allegations against me. German authorities never forced me to leave the country.… I have been a frequent visitor to Germany.»
Yet, Iranian dissidents and human rights experts uncovered testimony from Abolghasem Mesbahi, a former senior-level Iranian intelligence official, who told the Berlin court during the Mykonos trial, «Mousavian participated in most of the [Iranian regime’s] crimes that took place in Europe.»
Mousavian did not respond to multiple Fox News Digital press queries, WhatsApp messages and telephone calls for this article.
Sen. Ted Cruz talks with reporters. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Meyer, the Princeton undergraduate student, said, «Anyone who has served in senior roles for the repressive Islamic Republic of Iran poses a clear threat to American national security. His continued employment at Princeton is a damning indictment of the anti-Americanism festering within so-called ‘elite’ institutions.»
Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber, who recently said he would defy Trump’s efforts to stop antisemitism via federal funding cuts to the wealthy university, did not respond to Fox News Digital email press queries and telephone calls about Mousavian.
Fox News Digital recently reported that pro-Hamas and pro-Palestinian agitators stormed a talk by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at Princeton, sparking criticism from Jewish students at Princeton.
In a statement to Fox News Digital over the incident, Eisgruber said he was «appalled» at reports of antisemitic language used during Bennett’s visit. He added, «Such behavior is reprehensible and intolerable. The University is investigating and will pursue disciplinary measures as appropriate, to the extent any members of the Princeton University community are implicated.»
Christopher Eisgruber, president of Princeton University, during an interview in New York, on Oct 11, 2023. (Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
It is unclear if Eisgruber suspended or expelled students who prevented Bennett from speaking. Mousavian has faced criticism for stoking antisemitism since Hamas invaded Israel and slaughtered over 1,200 people, including more than 40 Americans. Eisgruber has gone silent about Mousavian’s actions.
A Fox News Digital examination of Mousavian’s X account shows a high number of Persian and English posts attacking the Jewish state, including comparing Israel with Nazi Germany. The comparison between Israel and Nazi Germany is classified as modern antisemitism, according to the widely accepted definition formulated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance.
IRAN’S ATTACK ON ISRAEL SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON TEHRAN’S ADVANCING NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and director of Global Social Action at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, asked Eisgruber in a statement to Fox News Digital: Why does the university continue to protect Mousavian at a time of raging antisemitism and what is he still doing there?
Cooper further asked, in the context of the reported antisemitic mob attack on Bennett and Mousavian’s alleged ties to the murders carried out by Iran’s regime, why can’t «the President of Princeton connect the dots»?
Anti-Israel protesters at Princeton disrupt a speech by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (Max Meyer/X)
Cooper said on Eisgruber’s watch «It is a shameful chapter that must end the right way.» Cooper accused Eisgruber of «stoic silence or indifference to antisemitism» and «stonewalling» efforts to hold Mousavian accountable for his alleged crimes and antisemitism. Cooper continued that Eisgruber owes it to Jewish students and faculty, Iranian-Americans, and Iranian dissidents to answer basic questions about Mousavian.
Eisgruber has not obstructed any law enforcement efforts to investigate Mousavian’s alleged crimes.
Cooper also called on Princeton and Mousavian to submit his Ph.D. for examination. Fox News Digital has learned that neither Princeton University nor the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, where Mousavian allegedly obtained his Ph.D. in 2002, were willing to produce a copy of his dissertation.
Mousavian was the head of the Foreign Relations Committee of Iran’s National Security Council (1997-2005), according to his Princeton webpage.
‘NOTHING WOULD REMAIN’: IRAN’S PRESIDENT VOWS TO COMPLETELY DESTROY ISRAEL IF IT LAUNCHES ‘TINIEST INVASION’
An aerial shot of anti-Israel protesters at Princeton. (WTXF)
Gary Hughes, a spokesman for the University of Kent, told Fox News Digital, «Data protection principle also means that neither myself nor any other colleague across the University can disclose personal data about this or any other current or former student.»
He said the university’s Freedom of Information (FOI) office can answer the request. The FOI office denied a request and later said after Fox News Digital appealed that, «We are currently conducting an internal review in relation to your request.»
A British-Iranian man sought to obtain Mousavian’s Ph.D. in January, according to email correspondence obtained by Fox News Digital. Kent University’s Open Research team wrote in one email, «I am afraid we have no record of Mr. Seyed Hossein Mousavian’s thesis in the library catalogue.» Fox News Digital searches for Mousavian’s Ph.D. in American, British and German academic databases showed no results.
The Swedish-Iranian author Iraj Mesdaghi told Fox News Digital that he sought to obtain Mousavian’s Ph.D. in 2013. The University of Kent declined to produce it. Mesdaghi wrote about the great lengths he went to in order to secure access to Mousavian’s alleged Ph.D. on his website, including contact with the FOI office.
Shirley M. Tilghman, the former president of Princeton University when Mousavian was hired in 2009, declined to answer a press query about whether she vetted Mousavian and his alleged Ph.D.
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Fox News Digital press queries regarding Cruz’s comment to the Department of Education, the U.S. State Department and Leo Terrell, who heads the Trump administration’s task force on antisemitism, were not immediately answered.
Fox News Digital reporter Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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La guerra sacude al Líbano: evacuaron el sur de Beirut y se intensifican los ataques entre Israel y Hezbollah
El Líbano se convirtió en el segundo frente de la guerra en Medio Oriente.
Mientras merma la intensidad de los ataques iraníes a Israel, su grupo proxy libanés, el movimiento armado chiíta Hezbollah, intensificó su ofensiva sobre territorio israelí a través del lanzamiento de misiles.
Leé también: Los kurdos quieren combatir a los ayatollah: contactos con la CIA y el riesgo de una guerra civil en Irán
En represalia, el ejército de Israel bombardeó distintos puntos del país y ordenó evacuar el distrito de Dahiyeh, en el sur de Beirut y bastión de las milicias islámicas, mientras sus soldados entraron en territorio libanés para crear una “zona tapón” en la frontera. Este jueves se produjo un masivo éxodo de la población de la periferia sur de la capital.
Hezbollah es el único aliado militar de Irán que está participando activamente en la guerra que enfrenta a Teherán contra Israel y Estados Unidos y que involucra a más de una docena de países.
Los hutíes yemeníes se mantienen por ahora al margen, mientras las milicias chiítas proiraníes de Siria e Irak no se caracterizan por tener un gran poderío militar.
Qué poder de fuego mantienen las milicias de Hezbollah
Hezbollah (Partido de Dios) es un movimiento político legalizado que creó un poderoso ejército paralelo con enorme control e influencia de la vida política, económica y militar del Líbano. Es en la práctica un Estado dentro del Estado libanés.
Su estructura castrense fue financiada y armada por Irán en las últimas décadas, pero su poderío militar quedó reducido tras dos años de guerra con Israel, en solidaridad con los palestinos de Gaza. Sin embargo, todavía mantiene activos a decenas de miles de combatientes.
Los libaneses buscan salir de la periferia sur de Beirut bajo amenaza de ataque israelí. (Foto: REUTERS/Claudia Greco)
“No está claro qué poder de fuego retuvo Hezbollah. Obviamente ha estado disparando (misiles y cohetes) contra Israel pero no ha provocado daños significativos por lo que sabemos hasta ahora”, dijo a TN el analista David Wood, especialista en temas del Líbano con base en Beirut del Crisis Group, una ONG encargada de la resolución de conflictos.
Según el experto, “siempre es posible que Hezbollah todavía tenga armas pesadas como misiles de precisión guiada que no usaron en la ultima escalada masiva en 2024, si es que todavía tiene esas armas, lo que no está claro”.
Leé también: Error de cálculo o mecanismo de provocación: los motivos detrás del inesperado ataque de Irán a Turquía
“Tampoco está claro si Hezbollah tiene la capacidad de usarlas. Tal vez las personas estrenadas para usar estas armas complejas murieron (en la anterior guerra). Entonces, no está claro si Hezbollah todavía tiene esas armas y, si es así, si tiene la capacidad para usarlas”, afirmó.
Qué está pasando hoy en el Líbano
Desde el estallido de la guerra y la entrada de Hezbollah en el conflicto, el ministerio de Salud libanés, que no responde al grupo islámico, contabliza 102 muertos y 638 heridos. Los desplazados ascienden a más de 83.000.
El gobierno libanés del primer ministro Nawaf Salam, en el que Hezbollah no participa directamente pero mantiene ministros cercanos a su alianza parlamentaria con el movimiento Amal, teme que el número de víctimas aumente en forma exponencial en los próximos días. Éxodo masivo de libaneses en el sur de Beirut, bastión de Hezbollah (Foto: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi)
Israel ordenó este jueves evacuar todos los suburbios del sur de Beirut, el mayor bastión de Hezbollah en el país. “Salven sus vidas y evacuen sus viviendas de inmediato”, advirtió un portavoz militar,
La orden provocó una virtual estampida de la población, temerosa de ser víctima de un bombardeo masivo de la fuerza aérea israelí. El pánico provocó embotellamientos interminables en las principales salidas del sur de la capital.
De hecho, el ministro de Finanzas israelí, el ultraderechista Bezalel Smotrich, advirtió que el distrito sur de Beirut se enfrentará a una devastación similar a la de Gaza.
“Muy pronto, Dahiyeh se parecerá a Jan Yunis”, aseguró Smotrich, al aludir de la localidad de la Franja de Gaza reducida a escombros durante la guerra en ese enclave palestino. “Hezbollah cometió un grave error y pagará un alto precio. Estamos atacando la cabeza del pulpo en Irán y, al mismo tiempo, cortaremos el brazo de Hezbollah”, dijo durante su visita a la frontera norte de Israel.
Leé también: Qué quiere Trump en Irán: la nueva estrategia “venezolana” y una alternativa islámica alineada con EE.UU.
En las últimas 48 horas, los ataques afectaron partes del territorio libanés más allá de las zonas comúnmente asociadas con Hezbollah, alertó el medio estadounidense The Media Line, especializado en temas de Medio Oriente.
Según el reporte, las fuerzas israelíes atacaron el valle de la Bekaa, de fuerte presencia del grupo islámico, pero también las zonas de Baabda, Aramoun (en el distrito de Aley) y Saadiyat (en Shouf), zonas con mayor población drusa.
Israel ordenó también la evacuación de más de 50 pueblos y ciudades libanesas fronterizas para crear una línea de seguridad en el sur del Líbano. En tanto, las milicias de Hezbollah se atribuyeron ofensivas contra fuerzas terrestres israelíes y 13 ataques contra Israel el martes.
En las últimas horas, el grupo islámico reivindicó además el lanzamiento de cohetes y drones suicidas contra ciudades israelíes, como Tel Aviv y Haifa.
Israel, Líbano, Irán, Donald Trump
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Iranian vessel suffers engine failure, offloads crew days after US submarine sank other ship
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An Iranian ship offloaded more than 200 members of its crew to Sri Lanka on Friday after suffering an engine failure at sea, just days after a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in an Indian Ocean torpedo attack.
The IRIS Bushehr, described in previous Iranian media reports as a navy logistics ship, is being brought first to the port of Colombo, according to Sri Lanka navy spokesman Cmdr. Buddhika Sampath. Sailors are being taken to a naval base in Welisara following medical exams and immigration procedures.
«We have to understand that this is not an ordinary situation,» Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said Thursday. «It’s a request by a ship belonging to one party to enter into our port. We have to consider that according to the international treaties and conventions.»
Dissanayake added that authorities decided to take control of the IRIS Bushehr following discussions with Iranian officials and the ship’s captain, after one of its engines failed. He said some crew members would remain on board to help the Sri Lankan navy later navigate the vessel to Trincomalee on the island’s northeast coast, about 165 miles from Colombo.
Iranian navy personnel stand aboard the IRIS Bushehr in Port Sudan, Sudan, in December 2012. The ship ran into engine problems on March 6, 2026, and is being taken to Sri Lanka, reports said. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The moves come after the U.S. sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka’s coast on Wednesday.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said it was «the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II.»
The Indian navy said Thursday that it had initiated search and rescue operations after receiving a distress signal from the Dena, deploying two aircraft along with a sailing training vessel. By the time the response was launched, the Sri Lankan navy had already started its own rescue efforts, it said.
The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 sailors and recovered 87 bodies after the attack, according to The Associated Press.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Thursday that the U.S. will «bitterly regret» striking and sinking that ship.
«The U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores,» Araqchi wrote on X. «Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning.»
US ‘WINNING DECISIVELY’ AGAINST IRAN, WILL ACHIEVE ‘COMPLETE CONTROL’ OF AIRSPACE WITHIN DAYS, HEGSETH SAYS
A U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship in international waters in the Indian Ocean, War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Wednesday. (@DeptofWar/X)
«Mark my words: The U.S. will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set,» he added.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters at the Pentagon on Wednesday that the Iranian vessel was «effectively neutralized» in a Navy «fast attack» using a single Mark 48 torpedo.
Two Iranian sailors, center, who were rescued from the IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka’s navy, are seen in Galle, Sri Lanka, on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Eranga Jayawardena/AP)
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He added that the U.S. Navy achieved «immediate effect, sending the warship to the bottom of the sea.»
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace, Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WATCH: Walz, Ellison, Omar refuse to answer when pressed on fraud after contentious fraud hearing
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Following the highly anticipated House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud Wednesday, Fox News Digital pressed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison about their roles in the scandal but received no response from the embattled officials.
«Why wasn’t the fraud caught sooner, governor?» Walz was asked after the hearing. «Almost $10 billion — why wasn’t it caught sooner?»
Walz declined to answer as he was escorted down a hallway by staff but stopped briefly to speak with another individual. During a second encounter, Walz again declined to answer the question but acknowledged a security guard as he walked down the hallway.
«Mr. Attorney General, can you tell us why the fraud wasn’t caught sooner?» Ellison was asked after his testimony.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, AG Keith Ellison, and Rep. Ilhan Omar avoided questions from Fox News Digital on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images )
Ellison did not respond and continued walking up a staircase.
Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, who did not testify Wednesday but has faced criticism for her ties to the Feeding Our Future fraud scandal in the state, did not respond after the hearing when Fox News Digital began asking her questions.
Walz and Ellison faced a barrage of tough questions from Republicans during the hearing on the massive fraud scandal in the state, with most focused on one key theme: What did they know and when did they know it?
Walz and Ellison were asked multiple times for specifics about when they were first made aware of the fraud and faced sharp rebukes from Republican members, including Rep. Virginia Foxx.
WALZ MOCKED ONLINE AFTER GOP LAWMAKER FLOATS THEORY IN HEATED HEARING ABOUT WHY KAMALA HARRIS CHOSE HIM AS VP
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol Building on March 04, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
«You did not do your job, you did not do your job,» Foxx told Walz. «You did not protect taxpayer dollars. You allowed massive fraud. You and Mr. Ellison allowed massive fraud to go on in the state of Minnesota. It is unfortunate, as somebody said, that you can’t be held personally responsible at this stage in the game.»
An exchange between GOP Rep. Jim Jordan and Walz sparked immediate pushback from conservatives on social media.
One of the most contentious exchanges came during questioning from GOP Rep. Nancy Mace when she pressed Walz for specific numbers on how many children are in his state, the massive increase in autism care spending and why that occurred, without getting specific figures from Walz.
«Ok, so your excuse before — that you didn’t know what the 2017 autism numbers were — because you were not governor, and today you can’t answer the numbers about 2024 as governor, and you still said you prepared for this hearing today. It’s unbelievable.»
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Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to reporters after announcing he would not seek reelection at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S., January 5, 2026. (Reuters/Tim Evans)
GOP Rep. Clay Higgins confronted Ellison in another heated moment, asking him to say he was «leading» the fight to root out corruption. Without receiving the specific answer he was looking for, Higgins called for Ellison’s resignation.
«I’m not talking about Medicaid fraud, don’t hide behind that,» Higgins said, interrupting Ellison. «You have the authority to prosecute anything criminally that the governor asks you to, and this thing is big. I’m giving you an opportunity, sir, are you leading the criminal investigative effort into this massive fraud across the board…or not?» Higgins pressed.
«You are not leading. I’m going to say, Mr. Chairman, that the attorney general of the state of Minnesota should resign,» Higgins said.
At the close of the hearing, things became tense again when GOP Rep. Nick Langworthy suggested that Walz, who is still serving as governor despite dropping out of his reelection bid due to the fraud scandal, should be impeached for «malfeasance,» citing Minnesota’s Constitution.
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