Beirut eyes revival of $3 billion of Saudi aid in pivot from Tehran

“The Palestinians become pawns,” said Schwartz, “particularly by the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

According to Schwartz, the plight of the Palestinians serves the interests of the clerical rulers of Iran as a geopolitical tool in its broader quest for regional dominance.

"It's a regional problem," said Schwartz.

Since the inception of the Islamic Republic, the leader of the revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, coined the term "little Satan" to refer to Israel and "big Satan" to reference the United States.

Iran’s clerical rulers have pledged to destroy Israel for more than four decades. The country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei often appears in public wearing a black-and-white checkered kaffiyeh to symbolize Palestinians.

Since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas militants, Iran’s fingerprints are seemingly everywhere as the Middle East has descended into turmoil.

Hezbollah in Lebanon, the armed Houthi movement in Yemen and Iraqi militias - all equipped and trained by Tehran - have taken shots at Israel with missiles and drones.

The Wall Street Journal, citing a Hamas source, reported on Oct 8, 2023, that Iran helped plot the attack, with the greenlight being given in Beirut during a meeting.

US intelligence, however, suggests that the attack came as a surprise to Iran.

While it’s not clear if Tehran coordinated the exact timing of the attack, what is certain is Iran has funded, trained and armed Hamas for decades. Iran has provided $100 million annually to Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas, according to the US State Department in 2020.

"That money didn't go to improving the lives of the people of Gaza - the opposite, and went to building their vast tunnel network to building up their rockets and their weapons," said Schwartz.

The Hamas-Iran relationship: a paradox

The Shia-led theocracy in Iran and Sunni-led Hamas in Gaza adhere to diverging creed but have a common enemy in Israel.

Their ardor is fueled by extremism driving both sides of the conflict, Schwartz said.

"There is extremism on both sides. There are extremists on the Jewish side as well. There are Jewish extremists in the West Bank who are attacking Palestinians in the West Bank, and there's no excuse for that," said Schwartz.

"People often forget that the name of Hamas means the Islamic Resistance Movement," she added "this weaponization of Islam is only hurting the Palestinian people and making the prospects for peace ever more distant."

As the conflict drags on, Schwartz observes a shift within Israeli society, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks.

"Many of the Jews who were killed and kidnapped on Oct. 7 were left wing Israelis. Many of them were peace activists. And as we've seen over the course of the last 16 months, many in Israel have shifted rightward," Schwartz said.

That shift has a historical parallel in the 1929 Hebron Massacre, about which Schwartz has written a book.

She contends the obscure atrocity set in motion a cycle of violence that continues to shape the region today.

In 1929, Arabs set upon the Jewish community of the holy city of Hebron now in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and killed nearly 70 people.

Many those killed or injured were pious Jews opposed to a political Zionist movement, viewing it as a secular movement.

The attack, however, hardened many survivors into advocates of a Jewish state.

While the origins of that cycle of violence are not rooted in Iran, the violence between two peoples with suing conflict has only been exacerbated by Tehran, Schwartz said, creating more obstacles to lasting peace.

Peace in the holy land, which Schwartz believes is destined for both peoples to share, can't happen without both sides having self-determination. But peaceful coexistence is not feasible, argues Shwartz with the long arm of the Iranian establishment reaching the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

"I do think that the only way we will see peace and an end to this never-ending war is when both people have self-determination."

You can watch the full episode of Eye for Iran with award winning author Yarden Schwartz on YouTube, or listen on Spotify, Apple, Castbox, Amazon or any major podcast platform.

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, praised the announcement made by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who urged the group to dissolve itself in a letter read by Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran supports any process that leads to the cessation of terrorism and strengthens security in neighboring Turkey,” Baghaei said Friday, expressing hope that this development would have positive effects throughout the region.

Ocalan’s statement comes amid shifting dynamics in the Middle East following the collapse of the Assad government in Syria. The new Syrian administration, backed by Ankara, is seeking to consolidate control over Kurdish-held areas in the north, while Turkey has intensified its push to dismantle Kurdish militant groups in both Syria and Iraq.

Last month, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called on Iran to align its stance with Ankara’s efforts against the PKK, saying, “There are some who think differently about the PKK in Iran, but we urge all countries, including Iran, to cease support for the group.” His remarks followed reports of an alleged meeting between Iran’s IRGC Quds Force Chief Esmail Qaani and leaders of the PKK-linked YPG in Syria.

Ankara, which classifies the YPG as a terrorist organization, has repeatedly warned that it will take military action if Kurdish militants do not disarm and withdraw. The disbandment of the PKK could reshape security dynamics in the region, particularly in oil-rich northern Iraq, where the group has maintained a base for decades.

Hakan Fidan, who served as Turkey’s intelligence chief for nearly eight years, said he had shared this assessment with Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020. Iran’s regional strategy has fallen short of its goals, and shifting geopolitical dynamics have forced Tehran to reassess its role, according to Fidan.

His latest remarks echo his December interview, in which he criticized Iran’s involvement in Syria, arguing that despite its extensive presence, it failed to prevent the devastation in Gaza caused by Israel’s offensive. That interview highlighted Turkey’s evolving stance, as Ankara has gained leverage following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, Iran's key ally in the region.

Ankara is widely regarded as the primary backer of the Syrian rebels who toppled Assad, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, however, insists that Tehran's armed groups, including Hamas and Hezbollah, remain strong despite external pressures. Addressing developments in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, he accused the United States and Israel of misjudging the strength of Iran-backed groups, an assessment that appears increasingly disconnected from the shifting realities on the ground.

In a separate interview with the Saudi-affiliated Al-Hadath, Fidan noted that Iran must reflect on its actions post-Assad. He stressed the need for a regional order built on cooperation, sovereignty, and mutual interests, one that moves beyond the dominance of any single power, whether Iranian, Turkish, or Arab.

On Thursday, spokesperson Esmail Baghaei denounced the strikes as a clear violation of the UN Charter and international law, citing repeated breaches of the 1974 agreement.

He also called on the UN Security Council to take immediate action to halt what he described as Israel's aggression.

"Israel’s occupation of parts of Syria’s territory and repeated violation of the Arab country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are tantamount to an act of aggression," he said.

The 1974 Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria, establishing a UN-monitored ceasefire and buffer zone, explicitly stated it was not a peace treaty but a step towards one.

However, following the instability caused by the Syrian civil war and the fall of Bashar Assad’s government, Israel declared the agreement void, leading to increased military activity, including an invasion of the buffer zone and aerial campaigns targeting Syrian military capabilities in December 2024.

On Wednesday, Israeli armed forces launched airstrikes at military sites in southern Syria, following Prime Minister Netanyahu's demand for the "complete demilitarization" of the region.

Residents reported low-flying planes over Damascus before the strikes, which a local monitoring group said targeted sites in Daraa province, including an airport previously hit by Israel. Syrian media also reported a strike near al-Kiswah.

Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since 2011, aiming to disrupt Iran's use of the country as a conduit for smuggling supplies to its regional proxies, including Hezbollah.

A statement on Thursday said: “Shin Bet and Tel Aviv Police Headquarters arrested a Petah Tikva resident who carried out missions for the Iranians. The investigation revealed that the suspect was asked to photograph the home of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and also offered to photograph the home of MK Benny Gantz.”

The man was named as 26-year-old Daniel Ki Tov. Israel Police said: “The investigation revealed that for several months, Daniel had been in contact with an Iranian official and, under his direction, carried out dozens of cases of spraying graffiti in the Petah Tikva and Rosh HaAyin areas for payment.”

Last year, the number of Iran-backed plots shot up by 400%, with at least 27 Israelis arrested in cash for action plots, which often began with small tasks such as spraying graffiti, before escalating into more sinister actions including photographing sensitive military and nuclear facilities and the homes of top political and military figures, into assassination plots.

“The investigation also revealed that Daniel was asked to photograph the home of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, to photograph military bases, and was even asked if he knew any pilots in the Air Force, but he did not carry out these tasks,” the police statement added.

“The investigation also revealed that Daniel, on his own initiative, offered to photograph the home of MK Benny Gantz [the former defense minister], but this task was not carried out.”

The rise in cases has been unprecedented in a country known for its resilience to foreign infiltration but amid a rising economic crisis, Iran has found a section of the population vulnerable to the financial incentives.

“According to suspicion, Daniel realized that he was in contact with an Iranian operator, based, among other things, on media publications on the subject and searches he conducted in this regard,” added the police statement.

A serious indictment will be filed against him in the Lod District Court for the offense of contact with a foreign agent.

Asher Ben Artzi, the former head of Israeli Interpol and a research associate at The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, told Iran International the situation is escalating to a worrying degree.

"In the past, there were those among us who said that the tasks they assigned to their Israeli recruits were simple and insignificant tasks, such as spraying anti-Netanyahu writing on a wall.

"But notice the escalation and increase in the quality of the tasks they assign to the recruits. They have already asked to shoot someone and can achieve a perfect elimination.

"The escalation of tasks now, namely photographing the house of Ronen Bar and Gantz, is the leading line in their intelligence activity in Israel. It is no longer about writing something on the wall, this is about the house of the head of the Shin Bet."

Israeli intelligence analyst, Ronen Solomon, said Iran has begun to turn the tables on the Jewish state.

"Israel has done this kind of plot for years with the aim of deterring the Quds Force from carrying out terrorist operations and even exposing the causes of arms transfers from Iran to Syria," he told Iran International.

"Iran's counter-intelligence, it turns out, learned the methods of operation and now operates in the same way, by recruiting locals and, when it comes to foreign operations, by recruiting foreigners."