Iran praises ‘victories’ after calls with Palestinian terror leaders
A senior Iranian official recently praised and encouraged Palestinian and Lebanese terror groups’ attacks on Israel, according to Iranian media reports.
Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Islamic Jihad Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhala and Sheikh Naim Qassem, second in command of Hezbollah, in a series of phone calls in recent weeks, according to the reports.
“We are very pleased with your recent victories, and hope for these victories to continue,” he told Haniyeh. “Whatever effort the Zionist regime puts into preserving itself is met with defeat, and it will eventually be faced with more challenges and frustrations,” Velayati asserted.
“Victory is undoubtedly yours,” he added.
Velayati also assured “ultimate victory” in a call with Nakhala, saying that it would come as a result of the “unity” between Palestinian terror groups and Hezbollah.
The Iranian official also congratulated Qassem on Hezbollah’s “recent victories” and what he described as the terror group’s defeat of Israeli forces in the Second Lebanon War on the occasion of that war’s anniversary.
The semi-official Tasnim News Agency, associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted Velayati as saying that Hezbollah is considered “the flag-bearer of struggle in Lebanon and the Muslim world.”
For their part, the terror leaders thanked Iran for its support.
“These victories have been realized on the back of unity and alignment with friendly countries and nations, especially Iran,” Haniyeh said. “God willing, we will defeat the Zionist regime and what the resistance has done in the West Bank will continue.”
Qassem said that Iran’s backing has “undoubtedly had an important role in these victories.”
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant charged the Islamic Republic with orchestrating the most recent surge in Palestinian terrorism, which saw three Israelis killed and one seriously wounded in just under 72 hours.
“We are in the midst of a terror onslaught that is being encouraged, directed and financed by Iran and its proxies,” said Netanyahu following a situational assessment at the site of one of the attacks near Hebron in Judea.
“It is important to understand the significant change that is taking place on the ground; it is related to Iranian funding and to the proliferation of weapons under the Iranian directive. Iran seeks every means to harm the citizens of Israel,” added Gallant, warning Tehran that “all options are on the table.”
Jerusalem on Tuesday decided to take the fight directly to Palestinian terrorists amid the wave of deadly attacks.
“The Security Cabinet made a series of decisions to target terrorists and those who dispatch them and authorized the prime and defense ministers to act on the matter,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
“The forum supports the commanders and soldiers of the IDF and security services in their activities against the terrorist elements,” it added.
The statement did not elaborate on the measures to be taken.
Source » jns.org
