The terrorist group Palestine Islamic Jihad says that Iran provided the rockets that have been striking civilian targets by the scores in Israel, including schools, homes and vehicles.
Terrorist group official Ramez Al-Halabi says the “weapons we use to pound Tel Aviv, our weapons, our money, and our food are provided by Iran,” according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
He made the comments in an interview with Iraqi television on May 7 as Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist army, and his Islamic Jihad began a rocket barrage of Israel from bases in the Gaza Strip.
MEMRI has posted a number of messages by Palestinians that underscore the huge reach of Iran inside Islamic elements determined to destroy Israel.
Republican senators have called on President Biden to end discussions with Iran on freeing up more sanctioned cash for the revolutionary Islamic regime. Mr. Biden wants to restart the 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear agreement that resulted in a quick $1.7 billion cash infusion from the U.S. delivered by aircraft on wooden pallets.
Iran has collected billions more in once-restricted reserves from other countries.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, which limits certain weapons enrichment operations but does not bar Iran from building bombs once the pact expires in 2030.
Mr. Al-Halabi said: “The mujahideen in Gaza and in Lebanon use Iranian weapons to strike the Zionists. We buy our weapons with Iranian money. An important part of our activity is under the supervision of Iranian experts. The contours of the victories in Palestine as of late were outlined with the blood of [Gen.] Qasem Soleimani, Iranian blood. Today, the patronage of the axis of resistance has begun to prevail in the region, thanks to Allah and to the blood of the martyrs, and it has begun to make an impact, and what an impact.”
Soleimani commanded the Qods Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which personally trained Islamic Jihad fighters. Mr. Trump ordered a strike in January 2020 that killed Soleimani and a U.S.-designated terrorist militia leader as they drove from Baghdad International Airport.
The Trump administration said Soleimani was planning more attacks on American troops in Iraq. During the Iraq war, he led an operation to kill hundreds of U.S. troops with roadside bombs.
U.S. officials have said Iran has a huge, malign influence in the region by providing money, arms and training to Syria’s military as well as the U.S.-designated terrorist groups Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. All three are committed to destroying the Jewish state, as is Iran.
MEMRI also posted a TV clip of Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau. He bragged Wednesday that the group has an endless rocket supply.
“We can continue fighting for many months,” Al-Arouri said. “We have only been getting rid of our surplus rockets so we can replace them with modern, more powerful missiles.”
In January, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of IRGC Aerospace Force and Missile Unit, said his units have taught Hamas how to produce an array of rockets.
“In Palestine, they are now using missiles instead of stones, and this caused fear among all the Zionist regime officials, because today the might of the resistance axis is no longer what it was 10 years ago,” Gen. Hajizadeh said, according to MEMRI.
“The Zionist regime stands at a crossroad of fire, from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and other Islamic states. If in the past the strength of our friends was limited to stones and rockets, today they are equipped with precision missiles and many of them have these technologies.”
• Rowan Scarborough can be reached at rscarborough@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.