Tehran’s Stance on Hamas: No Plans for War with Israel

Tehran has made it clear to the Hamas leadership that their plans do not include war with Israel, Reuters reports, citing Iranian and Palestinian sources.

According to the agency, this position of Tehran was voiced at a meeting between the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Khamenei and the head of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh, held in early November.

The Iranian authorities, Reuters interlocutors said, in particular, pointed out to the Hamas leadership that they were not warned about the impending attack on Israel.

At the same time, Khameniya, according to the agency’s sources, assured Haniya that Iran would continue to provide moral support to Hamas, although it would not enter into direct confrontation with Israel.

The Ayatollah, the agency’s interlocutors said, also demanded that Haniyeh “silence” those in Hamas who call on Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah to start a full-scale war with Israel.

Hamas, Reuters notes, declined to comment before publishing this material. After the publication of the article, Hamas called the publication “baseless” on its social networks, without specifying details.

Official representatives of the Iranian authorities also refrained from commenting. However, the agency recalls, the Iranian Foreign Ministry previously said that it was not going to allow the armed confrontation to spread to the entire region.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 people and taking at least 240 hostages. Israel responded by first striking the Gaza Strip and then launching a ground operation.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, wrote that Iranian intelligence services helped Hamas militants plan an attack on Israel. Tehran denied this. The New York Times, in turn, reported that, according to American intelligence, the Iranian leadership did not know in advance about Hamas’ plans to attack Israel.

Hamas’s main allies in the fight against Israel are the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran. How do they help militants from the Gaza Strip and how great is the risk of their involvement in the war? Expert on Iranian politics Nikita Smagin explains

Hamas’s main allies in the fight against Israel are the Lebanese Hezbollah and Iran. How do they help militants from the Gaza Strip and how great is the risk of their involvement in the war? Expert on Iranian politics Nikita Smagin explains

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2023-11-16 06:52:00