Leaders from the Islamic State of in Syria (or ISIL, as it is known in Iraq) are calling for the execution of Jordanian King Abdullah II.

According to a report written for The Gatestone Institute by Khaled Abu Toameh, The terrorists recently posted a video on YouTube threatening to “slaughter” him.

In the video, they referred to the Western-backed Hashemite monarch as a “tyrant.” Several of the terrorists who appeared in the video were apparently Jordanian citizens; vowing to carry out suicide bombings inside the kingdom, they tore up their passports in front of the camera.

The threat to Jordan is seen as a real and immediate one due to the fact that ISIS/ISIL has captured large swathes of territory on both sides of the Iraqi-Syrian border. Jordan is bound on two sides by Iraq and Syria.

Moreover, the terrorists are not planning to stop at Jordan: according to Toameh, they are planning to carry their jihad also to Gaza, Sinai and Lebanon.

“ISIS is a threat not only to moderate Arabs and Muslims, but also to Israel,” Toameh wrote, “which the terrorists say is their ultimate destination. “The U.S. and its Western allies need to wake up quickly and take the necessary measures to prevent the Islamist terrorists from achieving their goal. Failure to act will result in the establishment in the Middle East of a dangerous extremist Islamist empire that will pose a threat to American and Western interests,” he warned.

The Al Qaeda-linked terror organization that earlier this week captured northern Iraq is now eyeing Baghdad.

The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known in Syria as ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), earlier this week captured the major northern Iraqi city of Mosul – and then took Tikrit, the hometown of former dictator Sadaam Hussein.

The forces also control a large swathe of territory in the western and central regions of the country, and in eastern Syria — leading to wide speculation about whether an emirate may soon follow. Iraq’s lucrative oil fields in the north are especially vulnerable — and profitable.

Now, the group is vowing to march on Baghdad, as the country’s parliament meets in an emergency session to vote on a request by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to declare a state of emergency.

Up to half a million residents so far have fled Mosul, according to the BBC.

The UN Security Council said in a statement, meanwhile, that it “deplores in the strongest terms the recent events in the city of Mosul” and expressed concern for the hundreds of thousands who have since fled their homes. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on “the international community to unite in showing solidarity with Iraq as it confronts this serious security challenge”.

Faith in any help from the international community, however, is probably about as strong as that in help from America, which promised when it pulled out two and a half years ago to help Iraqi leaders “help push back against this aggression.” And then left them to twist in the wind.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani began a state visit to Turkey today (Monday), the first by an Iranian head of state since 2008.

Rouhani was received by Turkish President Abdullah Gul at the presidential palace in Ankara with a special welcoming ceremony. He and Gul are meeting with other Turkish leaders at the palace for bilateral talks.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined the gathering, which preceeded the start of direct talks in Geneva between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s galloping nuclear development program.

On the agenda is the expansion of trade and other ways to establish closer economic and political ties, according to the Turkish Al Hurriyet news agency. Officials from the two nations are also discussing the raging civil war in Syria, which borders both countries and which has affected the relations between the two.

Iran has armed and backed President Bashar al-Assad, whose forces have periodically shelled villages in Turkey. In addition, Syrian military forces have often fired at civilians as they crossed the border into Turkey to escape the violence in their homeland.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah guerrilla fighting force is among the most heavily armed in the region, according to IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, who told the 2014 IDC Herzliya Conference on Monday that Israel is facing a lethal threat.

Israel’s military chief said just Israel and the top five nations of the world currently have more firepower today than Hezbollah. According to Gantz, the only nations more heavily armed than Hezbollah – which is supplied by Iran – are “the U.S., China, Russia, Israel, France, [and] the UK.”

It was a sobering moment for the audience at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, who heard that Israel is facing a new type of threat, one that originates from underground. Terrorists in Lebanon and in Gaza use bunkers, where they store their arms – in much the same way Israelis used underground facilities to produce bullets during the British Mandate to prepare for the 1948 War of Independence.

Attendees also heard the army chief explain that Israel’s neighbor to the north, Syria, is disintegrating. Regardless of what happens on the other side of the border, none of the options will be particularly good for Israel, Gantz explained. He added that “decades of conflict” are likely to continue in Syria, “perhaps more.” Hezbollah is actively involved in that war, fighting to defend President Bashar al-Assad; the experience gained in that fight may well aid the terrorist organization later in a future war against Israel, Gantz warned.

Moreover, a second front is again developing in the south with Gaza, where mid-to-long range missiles have again been stockpiled for a future war with Israel as well. Both the ruling Hamas terror organization and its allied Islamic Jihad terrorist group are fully backed by Iran, as is Hezbollah. All three would function as proxies for Iran, which has not given up its dream of annihilating Israel.

Nor has Iran abandoned its goal of developing a nuclear weapon of mass destruction, Gantz said.

Israel will take whatever action is deemed appropriate to neutralize that existential threat against the Jewish State, he said.

Arab sources are claiming that Israel destroyed 2 Syrian tanks on the Golan Heights near Quneitra on Tuesday night.

Syrian Rebels are claiming that Israel fired the anti-tank missiles after 2 or possibly 4 mortars landing within Israel.

There is no confirmation of the destruction of the tank, from the IDF.

The Iron Dome system was activated for the mortars, but the counter-missile system wasn’t fired after the trajectories indicated the mortars would hit in open areas. The mortars caused some wildfires in the area.

The road between Alonei Habashan and Ein Zivan was closed.

Syria’s president Bashar Assad won 88.7% of the vote for president, or so claims Syrian Parliament speaker Mohammad al-Laham.

Syria’s Supreme Constitutional Court Majed Khadra claims that 11,634,412 of 15,845,575 eligible voters, voted.

This is Assad’s third term as president after succeeding his father, Hafez Al-Assad.

3 Syrians were killed in celebratory gunfire, and dozens more were wounded.

The Syrian First Lady has asked people to not shoot in the air, as they might accidentally hurt their fellow citizens.

WARNING: Strong language.

A pro-Israeli Arab, Orim Shimshon, went to an anti-Assad Syrian protest in London’s Trafalgar Square holding up a sign thanking Israel for treating hundreds of Syrian wounded.

The reactions that follow will disturb you, on the other hand, knowing there are people like Orim out there will give you hope.