Hamas is part of Iran’s strategy of using proxies to spread its influence across the Middle East, while supporting terror and violence against Israel and moderate Sunni countries. Iran supports Hamas through funding, the transfer of knowledge and expertise, and training.

It has been reported that Iran assisted Hamas in planning the surprise attack against Israel, and even gave the terrorist organization a green light to carry out the attack.

The entire Iranian system, from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to government-affiliated media, expresses encouragement and support for Hamas’s barbaric massacre.

Iran’s message is clear: The ‘Zionist regime’ is on the verge of disappearing, Israel will be overthrown by the Palestinians and the resistance axis, the Palestinians must take advantage of the opportunity to destroy Israel, and Saudi Arabia and other moderate Arab states must not make peace with Israel. 

Background:

The Islamic Republic of Iran is governed by a radical clerical regime dedicated to spreading the Shia Islamic revolution. This regime actively seeks to expand its influence and impose its extremist ideology through the use of terror and violence. Its goal is to achieve Iranian regional hegemony in the Middle East and to expand Iranian influence in the international arena.

In order to realize this vision, Iran employs a strategy of “proxies,” which are usually non-state actors organized as military-political forces with the funding and support of the Iranian regime. These forces receive financial and technological support, guidance, weapons, and training, and are deployed as “proxies” when necessary to carry out terrorist attacks and project Iranian power.

Iran’s support for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad serves a dual purpose: On the one hand, it aligns with Iran’s strategic goal of undermining and weakening Israel. On the other, supporting Hamas advances Iran’s goal of diverting Israel’s focus and resources towards the Palestinian conflict, at the partial expense of countering Iran’s regional manoeuvres. The Iran-Hamas alliance is rooted in an ideological partnership and shared jihadist vision of eradicating the State of Israel, which unites Sunni

Palestinian terrorist groups with radical Shia revolutionaries, effectively bridging the ideological divide between Sunnis and Shiites[1].

Iran and the October 7 Hamas Terror Attack Against Israel:

The Wall Street Journal reported on October 9, 2023 that Iranian security officials helped Hamas plan the surprise terror attack on Israel on October 7. The Iranian representatives gave Hamas the green light to attack Israel at a meeting in Beirut on October 2. The newspaper also reported that officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps had been working with Hamas operatives since August to plan the assault[2].

In parallel to these reports, the Iranian regime’s leaders are expressing unequivocal and sweeping support and encouragement for Hamas’ barbaric attack, in which over 900 Israeli children, women and men were murdered, and over 100 were taken hostage.

Several days before the attack, on October 3, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, published a series of tweets in Persian in which he wrote:

“The Zionist regime is on the verge of disappearing. Countries that are betting on normalization (referring to Saudi Arabia) should know that you should not bet on the losing horse. The cancer (referring to Israel) will be uprooted by the Palestinians and the resistance axis.”

In additional tweets, Khamenei wrote:

“With the help of God, the Palestinian movement will win, as Khomeini said in his words that this cancer will be uprooted by the Palestinians and the resistance axis.”

 “The Palestinian movement is more vibrant today than at any time in the past 80 years. The Palestinian youth, together with the Palestinian movement, which is a movement against occupation, against oppression, and against Zionism, are the most vibrant and prepared.”

“The Zionist regime is on the verge of disappearing.”

 [1] Zamir, E. (2022). Countering Iran’s regional strategy. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/5536?disposition=inline

[2] Said, S., Faucon, B., & Kalin, S. (2023, 9 October). Iran security officials helped plan assault at meeting last week, militant groups say. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-israel-hamas-strike-planning-bbe07b25?

Several hours after the terrorist attack on October 7, Khamenei posted several additional tweets in which he expressed unequivocal support for the attack. On his Twitter page in English, alongside a photo of Israeli youths fleeing terrorist gunfire, Khamenei tweeted:

“God willing, the cancer of the usurper Zionist regime will be eradicated at the hands of the Palestinian people and the Resistance forces throughout the region.”

Later, Khamenei published another tweet, alongside a photo of an Israeli vehicle that was apparently kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, repeating the same message from October 3:

“The Palestinian movement is more vibrant today than at any time in the past 80 years. The Palestinian youth, together with the Palestinian movement, which is a movement against occupation, against oppression, and against Zionism, are the most vibrant and prepared.”

In parallel, the Iranian-linked news agency Jame Jam published the following message:

“The people of Moses are going into the desert. Remember these historical and exceptional images, know that Iran will decide in the region what will be and where it will be, we are not talking in the air.”

Alongside the statement, the agency published a photo of a young Israeli woman fleeing gunfire from Hamas terrorists.

This narrative is also echoed in the words of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, who praised Hamas’s terrorist attack and said:

Additionally, in the streets of Iran, supporters of the regime distributed candies and held performances with revolutionary music. Revolutionary videos were screened on Azadi Tower in the heart of Tehran, one of the most prominent symbols of the Iranian capital. This too is another testament to the involvement and mobilization by the Iranian government to support and celebrate the terror attack.