Iran Helped Plot Attack on Israel Over Several Weeks - WSJ
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
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DUBAI—Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’s Saturday surprise attack on Israel and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iran-backed militant group.
Officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had worked with Hamas since August to devise the air, land and sea incursions —the most significant breach of Israel’s borders since the 1973 Yom Kippur War—those people said.
Details of the operation were refined during several meetings in Beirut attended by IRGC officers and representatives of four Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas , which holds power in Gaza, and Hezbollah, a Shiite militant group and political faction in Lebanon, they said.
U.S. officials say they haven’t seen evidence of Tehran’s involvement. In an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: “We have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there is certainly a long relationship.”
“We don’t have any information at this time to corroborate this account,” said a U.S. official of the meetings.
A European official and an adviser to the Syrian government, however, gave the same account of Iran’s involvement in the lead-up to the attack as the senior Hamas and Hezbollah members.
Asked about the meetings, Mahmoud Mirdawi, a senior Hamas official, said the group planned the attacks on its own. “This is a Palestinian and Hamas
decision,” he said.
A spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations said the Islamic Republic stood in support of Gaza’s actions but didn’t direct them.
“The decisions made by the Palestinian resistance are fiercely autonomous and unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people,” the spokesman said. “We are not involved in Palestine’s response, as it is taken solely by Palestine itself.”
A direct Iranian role would take Tehran’s long-running conflict with Israel out of the shadows, raising the risk of broader conflict in the Middle East. Senior Israeli security officials have pledged to strike at Iran’s leadership if Tehran is found responsible for killing Israelis.
The IRGC’s broader plan is to create a multi-front threat that can strangle Israel from all sides—Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in the north and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank, according to the senior Hamas and Hezbollah members and an Iranian official.
At least 700 Israelis are confirmed dead, and Saturday’s assault has punctured the country’s aura of invincibility and left Israelis questioning how their vaunted security forces could let this happen.
I've hear it said otherwise but this....
I suspected that Iran was behind the attack from the start. Why? Because many aspects of the attack were not typical of the way Hamas operates.
Also the timing{ unprecidented negotiations are occurring, or soon to occur, leading to peace between Israel, the Saudis, and IIRC a few other nations in the Persian Gulf.
Many Arab countries hate Israel and the jews-- but there's also been a bitter split between the Sunni Muslims (for example the Saudis) and the Shiite Muslims (Iran, etc) Recently there's finally been some movement towards peace between some of Sunni nations and Israel-- and the Iranians don't like the Sunnis-- especially Saudi Arabia.
So I'm sure peace between Israel and countries like Saudi Arabia is something Iran wants to prevent.
This is what Iran does..
Time to give them more money and ignore sanctions so we get more terrorism, I guess.
It was their money to start with.
The money is coming from South Korea.
The money is heavily monitored and can only be used for humanitarian aid.
I find it weird that the right wing completely forgets to mention these things.
How is it monitored? What have they spent the money on so far?
The gop also fails to note Trump totally compromised our Iran intelligence and war plans which probably contributed to this whole mess! We finally get out of a gop quagmire war in Afghanistan on the terms Trump's negotiated and it goes badly? The gop blames Biden. Putin invades Ukraine? The gop blames Biden. Hamas attacks Israel? The gop blames Biden. The gop has become the "Blame President Biden For Everything Party"...
It's all they have. And they apparently forgot that Trump shared Israel's top secret info with Putin, who supports Iran.
Wake Up! Zero dollar of frozen Iranian funds have been released yet. Under the terms of the agreement the US must receive solid proof that 100% of the funds will be used for humanitarian purposes to effect the release of those funds.
Exactly...
They haven't gotten any of it yet, so...NADA.
So Biden will prevent Iran from ever getting the money, given this attack right? I'm sure he's announced the money has been frozen since the atrocities and not spent the time throwing a party with a band and calling it a day before noon.
But of course, your response is exceptionably dishonest. The six billion is only part of the money the Biden admin has helped Iran accumulate. The last two Democratic admins have ensured Iran has cash to fund terrorism, rewarding kidnapping, easing sanctions as they exterminate their own citizens who protest the theocracy have all been rewarded by Democrats.
he money is heavily monitored and can only be used for humanitarian ai
Now we know they make the claims, some useful idiots will actually claim to publicly believe it. Money is fungible. If you don't grasp that, you shouldn't bother commenting on this.
This past summer, the US gave Iraq a sanctions waiver to allow them to transfer to Iran over $10B that had been frozen in Iraq.
Well, at least he didn't golf three times a week, on the taxpayers dime while 500,000 Americans died. Right Sean?
east he didn't golf three times a week, on the taxpayers dime while 500,000 Americans died. Right Sean?
You got me. Big win for you. Trump and Biden are the same.
Glad you admit it.
Amazing admonition on your part, So you are saying trump killed less Americans while playing golf 3 times a week and no vaccine than Biden did with a vaccine and not distracted? What a complete worthless piece of shit Biden must be.
'Course this comes with your standard "standing at the podium with Putin" in Helsinki while discussing all the secrets of all the other governments of the world - did you forget to mention that one yet??
And your proof of that is ???????
I can't believe how ignorant liberals think others are, or do they really believe that the money doesn't translate into more funding for terrorism. That really can't be that gullible can they?
I don't think it, I know it. You have a great day!
Kanaani said the funds, blocked in South Korea after U.S. sanctions on Iran were hardened in 2018, would be available to Tehran on Monday. Under the deal, Qatar will ensure the cash is spent on humanitarian goods and not items under U.S. sanctions.
U.S. and Iran trade detainees after Qatar deal unfreezes $6 billion of Tehran's funds (cnbc.com)
We aren't dumb enough to believe that money won't fund terrorism. So there is that.
Really? How gullible can the cons possibly be?
Deflection fail,
What else can he do but deflect?
Their argument., if you accept everything they claim as true, boils down to: Biden decided to give 6 billon to the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism, who weeks later helped commit the worst terrorist atrocity in decades, but there's no proof those specific dollars were used to fund this specific attack, therefore ????
There's nothing that can justify the decision to give Iran billions.
What could possibly go wrong?
Qatar likes to hedge it's bet by supporting most sides including Hamas.
Let's put it this way. Let's say Hamas had 6 billion dollars earmarked for humanitarian and food aid for Palestinians and was running out of money for munitions and other terrorist needs, whatever they may be.
Lo and Behold Iran is given 6 Billion dollars by the idiot in the WH. Iran tells Hamas to go ahead and use the money for the food aid for munitions and terror items, and Iran will give them the 6 billion dollars in "humanitarian aid", because that is what it is earmarked for and it can be justified that is what it will be used for, therefore the money has to be released. .
Hamas can now free up their monies because Iran has promised to pay them back for what they have used to buy munitions.
it's very simple. If not, it is just volunteered blindness.
I'm a football (soccer) fan. The World Cup was in Qatar last year.
Qatari corruption is on levels that make anything else look feeble by comparison. Everything from bribery to slave labor. I'm too cynical to be easily shocked, but holy shit.
Morning... wouldn't trust the Qataris as far as you could throw them...
I have actually been on the King of Qatar mega yacht Katara in Spain.. all the usual gold this and that on board and it's not a yacht more like the size of a Destroyer...a rellie worked on it..
There are quite a few nationalities on board and one of the things that miffed me off was they are paid by race plus they get paid a pittance..
So a Gurkha security guard gets paid less about half that of a white security guard etc and that applies to all on board..my rellie left and one of the reasons was that..she couldn't stomach it..
So if the King allows that on his own yacht and yes he is very aware of what goes on board as my rellie use to report directly to him all the facts and figures...speaks volumes for his own country...
Republican politicians and their minions had a choice, they could either act responsibly and patriotically , or they could politicize this tragedy by incorporating it into American politics. Of course they have chosen to place the blame for a terrorist attack in Israel on Biden. Its disgraceful, but par for the course.
Responsibly like the Biden admin calling on Israel to cease fire as it's response was just getting started? Responsibly like holding parties and working two hour days in the middle of a crises?
f course they have chosen to place the blame for a terrorist attack in Israel on Biden.
The responsibility for the attack lies on Hamas and its backer Iran. The question Americans rightly want answered is why Biden, and Obama before him, enables Iranian terrorism.
Iran's governent is supporting, and will continue to support terrorism, in several places. Regardless of how much money they get-- or not.
And remember-- Iran is a major oil producer so money keeps flowing to them anyway.
Maybe they are still working off the $235Million Biden gave them in 2021 after Trump shut that idea down.............
They can never just say, "it's wrong to fund terrorism." They have to make up convoluted, idiotic explanations about the how the money they gave to exporters of terrorism doesn't support terrorism. What's funny is the Biden admin has admitted that this money could be used for terrorism. They have to deny their own leaders to keep the pretense alive. Better to deny reality than admit a mistake seems to be their rationale.
Kind of like the border wall thing...............no EXACTLY like the border wall thing.
The Biden administration seemingly supports and enables terrorism against Israel.
Iran Makes It Clear They're Behind Hamas' Barbaric Terrorism (townhall.com)
Biden Admin's Lies About Aid to Gaza Are Totally Unbelievable (townhall.com)
Townhall is about as biased a news source as you can get. The only thing out there more biased is RT.
He said as he posted a Times opinion piece, you guys aren’t even putting any effort into hiding the hypocrisy of your comments.
Comparing Townhall to the New York Times is ridiculous.
And Hunter Biden’s laptop is Russian disinformation according to the times, and according to the times 17 intelligence agencies said trump colluded with Russia. I think maybe the times has a worse record on getting the important things right.
Everybody drink!
... gee, have the wheels fallen off the maga house' impeachment bus already? /s
When you can't dispute the information, attack the source.
Parties on campus tonight.
BTW, many people know that terrorists from Gaza have crossed over the border with Israel numerous times. (They also entered Israel a few times by tunnels until the Israelis stopped that).
But many people are not aware of the fact that Gaza terrorists have also crossed their other border (the one with Egypt) and murdered Egyptians.
So the Egyptians finally put up a border wall! Here's part of the article from Wikipedia:
The Egypt–Gaza barrier is a steel border barrier constructed by Egypt along its 14 kilometres (7.5 miles) border with the Gaza Strip . The Rafah border crossing is the only border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
In December 2009, with help from the United States , Egypt started building a steel wall along the Gaza border. If it is finished, the wall will be 10–11 km (6–7 miles) long and extend 18 metres (60 feet) below the surface. The wall was to be completed in 18 months. [1]
On 29 October 2014, Egypt began demolishing homes on its side of the border with the Gaza Strip as part of a planned 500 metres (550 yards) buffer zone intended to prevent weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip. [2]