Iran denies involvement in Hamas attack rumors, calls it Israel's failure justification

UN Iran Representative Statement Emphasizes
Calls Palestinian Attacks "Legitimate Defense"

Iran, the Islamic Shia power suspected of being behind the Palestinian armed faction Hamas's attack on Israel, denied involvement in the attack. Iran stated that the Palestinian attack was justified and accused Israeli intelligence agencies of rationalizing their failure to prevent the attack.

Ebrahim Raisi, President of Iran
[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

According to major foreign media on the 8th (local time), the Iranian mission to the United Nations issued a statement saying, "We continue to maintain unwavering support for Palestine," but also stated, "We are not involved in Palestine's response; this is purely something Palestine did on its own."

This stance from Iran came after suspicions of its involvement persisted following Hamas's attack on Israel in the early hours of the 7th. Iran has been providing financial and military support to Hamas and the Palestinian armed group Islamic Jihad. Amid efforts mediated by the United States for Israel and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations recently, the attack raised suspicions that Iran might be behind it.

However, Iran denied these claims. The Iranian mission said, "The resolute measures taken by Palestine constitute a completely legitimate defense against the oppressive occupation and heinous crimes committed by the illegal Zionist regime that has lasted for 70 years," thereby defending Hamas's attack.

Iran evaluated Hamas's attack as a "success" by causing the Israeli security agencies to suffer the worst failure in history. It added, "They (Israeli intelligence agencies) are trying to rationalize their failure by blaming Iran's intelligence capabilities and operational planning," and said, "The intelligence agencies find it very difficult to accept that they have been defeated by Palestinian groups."

As a result of Hamas's attack on Israel, more than 700 people have died on the Israeli side, and over 100 civilians and soldiers have been taken hostage and dragged into the Palestinian Gaza Strip. In response, Israeli retaliatory bombings have resulted in at least 413 deaths in Gaza.

Earlier, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reportedly praised the surprise attack on Israel during phone calls with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad's Ziyad al-Nakhalah, according to foreign media.

The suspicion of Iran's involvement should be viewed in the context of efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. If Israel and the Sunni Arab world, led by Saudi Arabia, reconcile and achieve the so-called "Middle East d?tente," Hamas, which has maintained a hardline stance refusing to recognize Israel, is expected to face a precarious position.

From Iran's perspective, which views the reconciliation between Israel and the Sunni Arab world as a threat to its own security and geopolitical standing, it is inevitable that Iran would be uncomfortable. Therefore, suspicions that Iran, whose interests align with Hamas, may have assisted in this attack have not subsided.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.