Punish Iran For Terror Support, Says Israeli Ambassador To UN
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations has called for a credible military threat to punish Iran for its ongoing support of terrorist groups.
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations has called for a credible military threat to punish Iran for its ongoing support of terrorist groups.
In an interview with Iran International, the Israeli UN ambassador Gilad Erdan called the Iranian regime a global threat and said: “The Ayatollah regime today is exactly like the Nazi regime during WWII,” after Israeli civilians were slaughtered in the deadliest single day since the Holocaust last Saturday.
Erdan said when the leaders of Hamas publicly thank the Islamic Republic for providing them with weapons and funding, there is no need for us to prove Iran’s direct involvement in the offensive against Israel which saw thousands of Hamas militia enter Israel by air, land and sea last Saturday, after a barrage of thousands of rockets, which continues.
A recently resurfaced video of Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, thanking Iranian leaders for providing them with “weapons, money and other equipment” has caused social media controversy, reinforcing the long-standing links between the group and Iranian regime.
“The situation in Gaza is under the responsibility of Hamas which has been oppressing people for the past 18 years and using every dollar that is being transferred to Gaza for humanitarian assistance and using it for its terror machine,” Erdan said.
Despite lauding Hamas' Al Aqsa Flood operation, which has resulted in more than 2,500 deaths in Israel and Gaza so far, Iran's ruler, Ali Khamenei denies any responsibility for the terror attack.
"We kiss the hands of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime .... but those who claim that the recent victory belongs to non-Palestinians have miscalculated”, he said at a recent military graduation ceremony.
Iran's Foreign Minister adopts a more assertive tone. Currently, on a regional tour, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that the resistance groups have planned for all possible scenarios warned, if Israel's attacks on Gaza do not cease immediately, the Hamas-Israel conflict might spread to other countries in the Middle East.
As of yet, the United States has not directly blamed Iran for the attack. National Security spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that the White House has not seen "hard, tangible evidence" that Iran was directly involved in Hamas' attacks against Israel.
In contrast, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Iran was responsible for helping Hamas grow to the point where it launched the attack on Israel last weekend, and that organizations that backed the Islamist movement would be severely repressed.
Meanwhile earlier this week, the UN Security Council was unable to reach the unanimity needed for a joint statement on the surprise ground and rocket attack on Israel, despite convening an emergency meeting behind closed doors. Members of the Security Council led by Russia were hoping for a broader focus than just condemning Hamas, according to diplomats.
The Iranian regime is a matter of direct concern for Israeli authorities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames Iran for having "encouraged and directed" the incident and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also holds Iran responsible for funding the group: "Our neighbor is Hamas, the ISIS of Gaza. An organization enjoying the Iranian payroll," he said.
There is a clear incentive for Iran in this attack by Hamas because it coincides with a US-backed initiative aimed at encouraging Saudi Arabia to normalize its relations with Israel, which has been suspended, according to AFP.
According to the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran has established a network of at least 19 armed groups along Israel's borders, including in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza are the two largest of these organizations.
