Iran Accelerates Arming of Hizbullah and Hamas – Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall (Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

At the same time that it engages in nuclear talks, Iran continues to arm and train Hizbullah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad with rockets and missiles, UAVs and advanced anti-aircraft weapons (mainly for Hizbullah). Iran also provides antitank weapons, sniper rifles, mortars, and more.

Under Supreme Leader Khamenei’s direction, Iran views the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank as a single unit under the leadership of Hamas. Iran seeks to encircle Israel from the north (Hizbullah), south (Gaza), and east (the West Bank).

Iranian activity is incessant and includes persistent smuggling of weapons into Gaza as well as shipments and convoys to Hizbullah via Syria.

The weakening of the American presence in the Gulf and the strengthening of Iran’s influence in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, along with the Palestinian organizations’ successes, from Iran’s perspective, in the recent rounds of conflict with Israel, inspire great confidence in Iran.

IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center and at Foresight Prudence.

See also Iran Official to Hamas: We’re Willing to Arm West Bank Palestinians Too – Amira Hass

Nasser Al Sudani, head of the Iranian Parliament’s Palestine committee, told a Hamas news website Saturday that Iran is willing to arm Palestinians in the West Bank, in addition to Hamas in Gaza. He said that even during the recent chill in relations between Tehran and Hamas over its support of the Syrian opposition, Iran had not ceased its military aid to Gaza. Now, Iran intends to bolster those relations with monetary aid as well, Al Sudani said.

Al Sudani also said that his nation continues to disbelieve the “fraudulent” Holocaust, but that President Hassan Rouhani decided that keeping quiet on the matter would bolster relations with the West. (Ha’aretz)

Iranian Regime Escalates Threats to Annihilate Israel

As the Nov. 24 deadline for the Joint Plan of Action between Iran and the P5+1 approached, Iranian officials, mostly from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), significantly ratcheted up their calls to annihilate Israel. One major motif is the arming of the West Bank. In late November, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated that the West Bank will be armed with missiles, as Gaza had been armed, and that Israel’s security would deteriorate by the day.

IRGC commander Mohammad Ali Jafari predicted that Israel would be eliminated thanks to the missile capabilities of the resistance factions. Basij commander Mohammad Reza Naqdi said that Iran was determined to hold victory prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Members of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee stressed that Leader Khamenei had ordered the West Bank armed in order to hasten Israel’s annihilation and that Iran intended to follow those orders. (MEMRI)

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