Israel says Hamas ran secret money-exchange network in Turkey with Iran help

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had uncovered what it called an Iran-directed secret money-exchange network run by Gaza-born operatives in Turkey, alleging it funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas leadership.

The covert network was uncovered by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet, the IDF Arabic spokesman said in a post on X citing internal Hamas documents.

According to Avichay Adraee, the network exploited Turkish financial infrastructure to move large sums of money earmarked for Hamas activities.

The Israeli spokesman added the Gaza-born exchangers worked “in full cooperation” with Iran, transferring what he said were hundreds of millions of dollars directly to Hamas and its senior commanders.

They said the network operated a wide economic portfolio inside Turkey, including receiving, storing and moving Iranian funds on behalf of the group.

The Islamic Republic has for years provided financial support to groups such as Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are designated as terrorist organizations by much of the international community.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remains a central conduit for Iranian funds reaching Hezbollah despite international sanctions.

The newspaper cited Arab officials as saying that Iran routes money through UAE-based shell companies and hawala networks, or traditional means of transferring money that mostly skirt easy tracing. Hawala brokers in the UAE convert and move cash without creating bank records.

“Iran’s shadow banking system is a critical lifeline for the regime through which it accesses the proceeds from its oil sales, moves money, and funds its destabilizing activities,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in June.

"The system operates as a parallel banking system in which settlements are brokered through Iran-based exchange houses that use front companies outside of Iran, primarily located in Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates (UAE), to make or receive payments on behalf of sanctioned persons in Iran," the Treasury said.

'Hamas rebuilding capabilities with Iran's aid'

The Israeli military on Sunday published what it called documentation from inside the Iran-backed money network in Turkey showing a “small portion” of its transactions, with individual transfers allegedly reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The statement named three Gaza-origin figures said to be working as exchangers under Iranian direction in Turkey. Israel identified them as Tamer Hassan, described as a senior Hamas finance ministry official living in Turkey and working directly under senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya; and Khalil Faraouna and Farid Abu Dayr, both described as money-changers operating within the alleged network.

The IDF and Shin Bet said the revelations show Hamas, with Iranian backing, is seeking to rebuild its capabilities and promote plots against Israel even outside Gaza, despite the devastation of the enclave.

Following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, the Jewish state’s campaign sharply degraded Iran’s regional axis — killing senior Hamas and Hezbollah commanders, striking Iran-linked sites in Syria ahead of the collapse of Tehran’s key ally Bashar al-Assad, and joining the United States in targeting Houthi launch and command facilities in Yemen.

The cumulative blows have weakened the core groups that long anchored Tehran’s regional reach.

Hamas and Hezbollah are now quietly rebuilding their military capabilities amid a tense ceasefire with Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported last month, with both groups accusing Israel of violating truce agreements intended to end the two-year-old conflict.

Iran-linked network in Chad trained Africans to target Israelis - Infobae

Dec 6, 2025, 19:30 GMT

Interrogations of rebels detained in Chad uncovered an Iran-backed network recruiting and training Africans to target Western and Israeli interests, Argentina's Infobae online newspaper reported citing Chadian officials.

Chad dismantled two networks accused of being tied to Iran, the report said quoting Chadian security forces.

Officials described a strategy of infiltration, indoctrination and promises of support for coups aimed at expanding Tehran’s influence in Africa.

According to Infobae, the interrogations detailed how the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) allegedly recruit and train African citizens for operations targeting Western and Israeli interests.

In 2023, Israel asked visiting Chadian President Mahamat Deby to reduce the influence of Iran and Hezbollah in Africa’s Sahel region, four years after the Muslim-majority country in central Africa restored its relations with the Jewish State.

Déby visited Israel to open Chad’s new embassy in the country, where he also made a rare stop at Mossad headquarters, a signal that the renewed ties carry national-security weight.

The alleged push for influence in Chad is not an isolated case, as Iran has been reportedly sending military equipment to Chad's eastern neighbor Sudan whose army is fighting against the UAE-backed Rapid Support Forces.

Iran's alleged recruitments in Chad

The Infobae report says one of those detained by Chadian authorities admitted to investigators that he had been recruited by Iran's intelligence ministry. The detaine, identified as Ali Abdoulaye Mahamat, said the process began after studying at the Al-Mustafa International University in Iran's Qom.

Mahamat told authorities he met Iranian intelligence officers in hotels in 2022 and 2023. He said he was instructed to identify American, Israeli and French activity, recruit new members and map links between local rebel groups and Iranian handlers, according to the report.

He also described an intelligence officer named Karim, who he said escorted him to hotels, restaurants and secret locations and confiscated his phone. Mahamat told officials Karim demanded detailed information on foreign military movements and intelligence services operating in Chad.

Pressed by his handlers, Mahamat said he eventually provided names of Chadian intelligence officers and individuals allegedly in contact with Israelis.

Chad’s authorities say another detainee, Abdoulaye Ahmat Sheikh Alamine, confessed to being recruited by the Quds Force. During his interrogation, he said the cell he belonged to was directed by Department 400, which operates in Iraq, Africa and other regions.

He told investigators he received weapons training — including Kalashnikovs, RPGs and KFX systems — and traveled to Iraq under the guise of religious trips, where the group met Iranian contacts and trained alongside Shia militias, according to the report.

Mahamat also told investigators that MOIS officers posing as Iranian Foreign Ministry representatives instructed him to collect information on international presence in Chad, recruit assets for military training and assess the needs of rebel groups such as FACT.

According to Infobae, Chad’s security services say the revelations show a coordinated Iranian approach combining religious indoctrination, military training and promises of political power in exchange for attacks on Western and Israeli interests.

Chadian officials told the outlet their operations disrupted, at least temporarily, what they describe as Tehran’s efforts to expand influence and destabilize the region.

Last month, Iran International revealed an alleged Iranian plot targeting the Israeli embassy in Senegal and Israeli personnel in Uganda, which were thwarted by Mossad.

The operation was directed by the Quds Force, the IRGC’s overseas arm, which relied on a proxy network of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals based in Iran, alongside locally recruited operatives in Africa — many of whom were said to have been enlisted through social media.