The Kushner-Israel nexus behind the Albania 'flamingo revolution'

Albania, a small Balkan nation on the Adriatic coast, seldom makes headlines. But protesters waving pink flamingo cutouts on an Albanian island the Trump family wants to turn into a resort, have recently attracted international media attention.

The dispute, which largely focuses on the threat the resort would pose to local wildlife, reveals more than meets the eye. Under the surface is an

intricate set of problems related to Jared Kushner — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a close ally and confidante of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and the presence in Albania of an Iranian exile group opposed to the current government in Tehran. All that comes on top of the news that the Albanian anti-corruption authorities have

launched a probe into Kushner’s deal with Tirana, which poses a direct test also for the European Union which Albania seeks to join.

The Vjosa-Narta Delta — home to rare flamingos, pelicans, and turtle hatcheries — became Europe’s

first Wild River National Park in 2023. But after Trump’s 2024 reelection, Kushner

unveiled plans for a multibillion-dollar resort on the protected island. Prime Minister Edi Rama’s government

granted “strategic investor status” to a Kushner-linked firm, reportedly waiving taxes and tenders and bypassing environmental reviews. When construction recently began, a “Flamingo Revolution” erupted.

What’s really important here is the possible geopolitical ramifications of this real estate project. During Trump’s first presidency, Kushner

promoted the Abraham Accords – so-called normalization deals between Israel and Arab nations, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Netanyahu

hailed those agreements as a great diplomatic triumph. Kushner and Netanyahu reportedly remain

in close contact , even as Kushner negotiates with Iran on behalf of the Trump administration . Kushner’s investment firm,

Affinity Partners, was explicitly created to deepen economic ties between Israel and the Arab world.

To understand the broader context, recall Israel’s classic

“periphery strategy.” For decades, Tel Aviv has cultivated ties with non-Arab states on the edges of the Middle East — from the Caucasus to the Balkans to Africa — as a way to break its diplomatic isolation. Today, that strategy is alive and well. Israel has forged close relationships with

Azerbaijan (a key energy partner and Israel’s intelligence foothold on Iran’s border),

Serbia (which has significantly increased its arms imports from Tel Aviv), Romania (which

announced it will move its embassy to Jerusalem), and now Albania.

Albania fits perfectly into this picture. Strategically located in the Balkans, it is a Muslim-majority but secular state, a staunchly pro-American NATO member, and an eager actor looking to prove its value to Western allies. Crucially, it is also a European Union candidate country. Having another friendly nation inside the EU — or at its doorstep — would be immensely helpful to Israel as

public sentiment across Europe turns increasingly critical of Israeli policies.

With EU member states debating sanctions, the potential suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, or bans on trade with the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, any sympathetic voice in the EU can be very helpful. Tirana is not yet a member, but its trajectory matters; and Prime Minister Rama has proved himself a strong ally.

Nowhere is Rama’s alignment with the Trump-Netanyahu tandem more visible than in his treatment of Iran. Albania is the country where thousands of members of the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), the exiled Iranian opposition group that was previously on the U.S. and EU terrorist lists, have relocated after leaving Camp Ashraf in Iraq in a deal brokered by the Obama administration in 2013.

The fact they found their new home in Tirana is mostly due to a refusal by most other nations approached by Washington to host them. The relocation was conceived as a humanitarian gesture, rather than the provision of a new operational base for the discredited group.

That arrangement was not fully respected; there is

documented activity of MEK bots originating from Albania. But Rama has embraced the MEK nonetheless, using it as a cudgel against Tehran.

As the Flamingo Revolution spread, Rama publicly

blamed Iran for stoking the protests. In a blistering statement addressed to the Islamic Republic, he accused Tehran of cyberterrorism, of targeting Albanian institutions, and of hostility “toward freedom itself.” He then pivoted to a

full-throated defense of Albania’s decision to shelter the MEK (without naming it directly), framing its members as “Iranian men and women whom you sought to silence through intimidation, imprisonment and death.”

This is remarkable for two reasons. First, it effectively endorses the MEK as freedom fighters — exactly the language used by top officials of the first Trump administration, including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and National Security Advi…