Monday, October 18, 2021
Guatemala blocks extremist ultra-Orthodox sect heading to Iran through Mexico
Guatemalan authorities stopped two buses carrying members of an extremist Jewish ultra-Orthodox sect from traveling across the border into Mexico, from where they were reportedly planning to reach Iran to seek asylum, Hebrew media reported Monday.
At the request of Israeli and US officials, who fear the Lev Tahor community could be used as a bargaining chip by Tehran, Guatemala has already prevented members from flying out of the country as they tried to head to the Islamic Republic.
The buses were stopped Sunday on their way to Mexico, where the passengers were apparently planning to board a plane to Kurdistan as a steppingstone to their final destination in Iran, the B'Hadrei Haredim website reported.
Video published by the website, which caters to the ultra-Orthodox community, showed women and children on one of the buses, which appeared to have been stopped on a main highway.
Members of the Lev Tahor group, which is anti-Zionist, applied for political asylum in Iran in 2018. Documents presented at a US federal court in 2019 showed that leaders of the fringe Hasidic cult requested asylum from the Islamic Republic and swore allegiance to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Comments:
Post a Comment
