Iran: The Regional Power behind the Hamas War Effort

Iran: The Regional Power behind the Hamas War Effort

• Iran is an arsonist, inflaming the conflicts in the Middle East. Since the 2012 “Pillar of Defense Operation,” Iran has heavily invested in improving the quantity and quality of the rockets in the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) arsenals. Its endgame is to preserve its influence via its proxies and to use the Palestinian organizations as Iran’s first defense line.

• Iranian rockets include Grad, Fajr-3 and the longer ranged Fajr-5, M-75, and M302 rockets which have reached the Haifa region. Iran also provided Hamas with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) (Ababil) and drone technology.

• The Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force coordinates the smuggling, shipping and delivery of the weapons to Gaza, the training in Iran and in Lebanon, and the transfer of funds.

• The longstanding disregard of Iran’s export of revolution and terror has fostered a situation where Iran threatens vital U.S. and Western interests.

IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Foresight Prudence.