A newspaper associated with the Iranian regime, led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has reportedly lauded the individual suspected of murdering an American and an Israeli national in Washington, D.C., referring to him as “our dear brother.”
Elias Rodriguez, a 31-year-old man from Chicago, allegedly confessed to police and witnesses that he fatally shot Sarah Milgrim, a 26-year-old American from Kansas, and her 30-year-old Israeli boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, stating his actions were “for Palestine…for Gaza.”
According to reports, the newspaper declared on Saturday, “Our dear brother Elias Rodriguez, who killed two Israelis in the U.S., has founded the Washington Basij.” The Basij is an Iranian paramilitary organization known for suppressing dissent against Khamenei’s government. Furthermore, Hossein Shariatmadari, the fiercely anti-American editor of Kayhan, reportedly inquired about Rodriguez’s actions, using inflammatory language.
The Iranian media’s apparent glorification of the killings has drawn strong reactions from observers. Oren Marmorstein, the spokesperson for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, condemned the reports on X, stating, “Iran openly calls for terror attacks against Israel on U.S. soil. Kayhan, the mouthpiece of Supreme Leader Khamenei, praises the attack on Israeli embassy staff in Washington DC — one of whom was an American citizen — calling the killer the founder of the ‘Washington Basij,’ Iran’s brutal militia. Unfathomable.”
The editorial in the Khamenei-controlled newspaper coincides with a report from Israel Hayom suggesting that the Trump administration is considering an interim nuclear agreement with Iran, which would involve Iran halting its pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for limited sanctions relief. However, the Iranian regime has consistently maintained its right to enrich uranium, a process that could potentially lead to the development of an atomic bomb. The U.S. government has designated Iran’s regime as a leading state sponsor of terrorism since the mid-1980s. Vatan-e-Emrooz, a newspaper linked to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also reportedly praised the assassinations of the two victims, who were employees at the Israeli embassy.
Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), described the newspaper articles as “repulsive” and stated to Fox News Digital that they serve as “a reminder that the Iranian regime is the leading state-sponsor of antisemitism.” He noted Kayhan’s history of publishing pro-Hitler articles, suggesting that its praise for the murder of Israeli embassy employees, including a Jewish American citizen, should not be entirely surprising. Brodsky argued that these media statements demonstrate the regime’s untrustworthiness and cautioned the Trump administration against holding talks to ease sanctions in exchange for a pledge on nuclear weapons. He emphasized that the true nature of the Iranian government is reflected in these articles, not in the interactions of its diplomats.
Beni Sabti, an Israeli expert on Iran born in Iran and a research fellow for the Institute for National Security Studies, told Fox News Digital that the threat of terror emanating from Iran is also directed at the U.S., urging Americans to understand this reality. Sabti added that Vatan-e-Emrooz’s supportive message suggests the shooting was viewed as revenge, potentially drawing from Islamic tradition where the name Elias is linked to the prophet Elijah, who, in some interpretations, killed many infidels, implying that Rodriguez’s actions were seen as those of a man of God when he killed the embassy employees.
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