The state-linked daily Jomhouri Eslami, which operates under the supervision of a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, described Hamas’s October 7 attack as a mistake that undermined anti-Israel movements in the region.
“Contrary to many analyses and comments, the Al-Aqsa Storm operation was a mistake,” the paper wrote in an editorial on Sunday.
The newspaper said the attack caused significant damage to what it described as “anti-Israel movements” across the region, from Iran to Lebanon.
It also cited the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the collapse of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government as “major losses” for what it described as the regional anti-Israel front.
It added that the paper's editorial board had believed from “the very first moments” the attack was a miscalculation, adding that, two years later, “our belief in this mistake has only grown stronger.”
The paper said in aftermath of the Iran's 12-day war with Israel in June — including the joint Israeli and US bombings of Iran’s Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow nuclear facilities — had severely damaged the country’s military and nuclear command structure, setting its nuclear program back “considerably.”
Jomhouri Eslami — like Kayhan and Ettela’at — is overseen by Khamenei’s representative but is known for its more moderate tone under managing editor Massih Mohajeri, a Shia cleric who has at times criticized parts of Iran’s establishment and defended reformist figures such as Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
Khamenei has previously praised Hamas’s October 7 attack, calling it a step toward “removing America from the region” and saying the operation “overturned the table of US policies.”
