The commander of Iran’s Quds task force affirmed that the country’s forces are ready to “do everything necessary” to support Hamas in its conflict with Israel.
“We make a fraternal commitment and assure you that we will do whatever is necessary in this historic battle,” said Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds task force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Iranian Catholic Church (IRGC), wrote in a letter published on November 16.
“The brothers in the resistance axis will unite with you and not allow the enemy to achieve their dirty goals in the Gaza Strip and Palestine,” General Qaani said, referring to the network of armed groups backed by Iran. in addition to Hamas such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
General Qaani commented that the military activities of these groups “clearly demonstrate the weakness and fragility of the Jewish entity”, and praised the “Al-Aqsa Flood operation”, the term used by Hamas. Refers to the large-scale attack on Israel on October 7.
He affirmed that the situation in the Middle East will never return to the way it was before the Hamas attack. “The resistance will not allow the enemy and those behind it to dominate the Gaza Strip and its people,” General Qaani declared.
The letter from the commander of the Quds task force was published a day after Reuters quoted senior Hamas officials as saying, “Iran may not participate in the campaign against Israel” because Tehran was not informed about the attack on September 7.
According to Hamas officials, Iran’s supreme leader also prevented members of the group from calling on the country and the Lebanese Hezbollah group to go all out to fight.
After the Hamas attack, cross-border clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army took place almost every day. Pro-Iranian militias with rockets and drones have repeatedly attacked US forces operating in Syria and Iraq.
However, the Hezbollah group seems to restrain the level of fighting and has not unleashed its full force. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) also responded with air strikes on a number of Hezbollah positions in Lebanon without launching a large-scale campaign like in the Gaza Strip.
Many sides debate the extent of Iran‘s involvement in the attack on Israel carried out by Hamas. A representative of Hamas announced that this group received “direct support” from Iran during the attack. However, Iran later denied the information and affirmed that it was not involved in the attack, although it expressed support for Hamas’s campaign.
