ISIS Recruiter Sentenced in US Court to Life in Prison

Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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ISIS Recruiter Sentenced in US Court to Life in Prison

Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Signage is seen at the United States Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, August 29, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

A Kosovo-born New York resident who helped supply "thousands" of recruits to ISIS was sentenced to life in prison for helping the extremist group, the Justice Department announced.

Mirsad Kandic, 40, was a high-ranking member of the militant group between 2013 and 2017, when it controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria, the Justice Department said.

In 2013, he left his home in New York and traveled to Syria, where he joined ISIS, becoming a fighter in Haritan, outside Aleppo.

After that time, he was directed to move to Türkiye to help smuggle foreign fighters and weapons for the group into Syria, it said.

He was also an emir for ISIS media, the department said Friday, disseminating the group's propaganda and recruitment messages online, including via more than 120 Twitter accounts.

As recruiter, "he sent thousands of radicalized ISIS volunteer fighters from Western countries into ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East," the Justice Department said.

One recruited volunteer was a fellow New Yorker, Ruslan Asainov, who became a sniper for the ISIS and was convicted in February of providing material support to a designated terror group, Agence France Presse reported.

Another was Australian teen Jake Bilardi, who was lured into ISIS in 2014 before killing himself and more than 30 Iraqi soldiers in a March 2015 suicide bomb attack.

By early 2017, Kandic was hiding in Bosnia under a pseudonym. He was arrested in July 2017 in Sarajevo and extradited to the United States three months later.

He was convicted in a jury trial in May 2022 of conspiracy along with five counts of providing support to ISIS.



Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Iran Says Continuing Uranium Enrichment on Its Soil 'Red Line'

People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)
People walk at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran on June 3, 2025. (AFP)

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil was a "red line" after the United States submitted its proposal for a new nuclear deal.

"Continuing enrichment on Iranian soil is our red line," Araghchi said while on a visit to Lebanon, adding that his country will respond to the proposal in the coming days based on Iran's "principled positions and the interests of the Iranian people".

US President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that Iran will not be allowed any enrichment of uranium under a potential deal with Washington.

Araghchi said the US proposal, submitted through mediator Oman, has "many ambiguities and questions".

On Saturday, Iran said it received "elements" of a US proposal for a nuclear deal following five rounds of talks that started in April and were mediated by Oman.

Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention between Washington and Tehran in the talks to seal a nuclear deal, with Iran defending what it says is its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program and the US calling it a "red line".

"We will not ask anyone for permission to continue enriching uranium in Iran. However, we are ready to take steps... to ensure that this enrichment will not lead to the production of nuclear weapons," Araghchi said.

Araghchi was visiting Beirut following a stop in Cairo on Monday, where he met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Grossi on Monday called for more transparency from Iran following a leaked report that showed Tehran had increased production of highly enriched uranium.

The IAEA report showed that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity -- close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons.

Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, while Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.