“Iran, it’s IRGC, and even Hezbollah has a presence in South America, and one of their anchor presence – especially for the Iranians – is inside of Venezuela.”
 
“Where they have planted their flag in our hemisphere is on Venezuelan territory, with the full and open cooperation of that regime.”
 
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (speaking in a Fox News interview broadcast on the 2nd December 2025)
 
Venezuela the United States, Hezbollah and Iran
 
Introduction
 
With the build-up of United States Naval forces off of the coast of Venezuela against what has become a conflict against narco-terrorism there may be other underlying factors to be considered. The US and Venezuela have for sometimes not seen eye-to-eye especially since the ‘Pink Tide’ of socialism took over.
 
The Pink Tide refers to a widespread political shift in Latin America from the late 1990s into the 2000s, bringing left-leaning governments to power, characterized by social programs, state intervention, and opposition to neoliberalism. These leaders, like Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Brazil's Lula, focused on reducing inequality, increasing national sovereignty, and promoting social inclusion, often funded by high commodity prices. The term means a move towards "softer" left policies (pink) compared to traditional communism (red), challenging US-backed economic models.
 
The first wave faced challenges from domestic opposition and external pressures.
After a period of conservative governments, a "New Pink Tide" emerged in the late 2010s and early 2020s with new left-wing leaders in countries like Colombia, Chile, and Brazil, facing similar struggles to redefine socialism for the 21st century.
 
Numerous American presidents have sought to curb narcotics emanating from Venezuela. However, the Trump administration appears to be taking the whole matter a lot more seriously especially with thousands of Venezuelan refugees seeking safety in other Latin America countries as well as the United States.
 
The U.S. "War on Drugs" in South America involves long-standing efforts to combat drug production and trafficking, notably through programs like Plan Colombia, but has seen evolving strategies, from eradication and interdiction to more recent, controversial escalations under the Trump administration in the mid-2020s, involving military deployments, intelligence operations (like the CIA), and increased rhetoric against cartels, particularly linked to fentany. These actions have faced political tensions, with countries like Venezuela mobilizing their own forces in response.
 
In August 2025, the US began deploying warships and personnel to the Caribbean, citing the need to combat drug cartels, although most of the fentanyl entering the US is over land via Mexico. On 20 August, Trump ordered three Navy warships to the coast of South America. As of the 29th August, seven US warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, were in and around the Southern Caribbean, bringing along more than 4,500 sailors and marines.
 
The Central Intelligence Agency joined the military campaign after confirming that it would play a significant role in combating drug cartels, just as it is considering using lethal force against these criminal organizations.
 
In response to this tension in United States–Venezuela relations, Venezuela said it would mobilize more than four million soldiers in the Bolivarian Militia. On the 26th August, Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López announced a naval deployment around Venezuela's main oil hub. Maduro said he "would constitutionally declare a republic in arms" if the country were attacked by the US forces deployed in the Caribbean.
 
Iran Courts Venezuela
 
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad started a five-day tour of South America on the 8th  January 2012. The Iranian President was to visit Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador. The Iranians over past years had been cultivating leftist, popularist and anti-American Latin American leaders. At the time it was thought that Iran was desperate for friends and attempting to find new allies. The trip was to promote economic and geographical agendas.
 
The Iranians have long detested the American in the Gulf Region and in particular its fifth fleet in Bahrain. They accuse the Americans of upsetting the status quo in the region with their presence whereby in fact they are keeping the peace in and around the Middle East and halting the Iranians from operating in an interfering manner. Maybe someone on the Iranian administration had another thought. If they were able to court and assist failing Latin American governments that were struggling financially due to their socialist ideology, they would welcome another power to assist them in finance and commerce thus paving the way for other reasons.
 
The Iranians would then be able to pressurize the Americans by having a large presence in the south of the United States and therefore reversing the difficulty that the Iranians felt in the Gulf Region with the presence of the American Fifth Fleet.
 
Not all the South American countries would welcome a continued presence of Iranians living in their country as some would like, at some point, to renew diplomacy with their northern neighbours. But, for Iran it would worth a chance of attempting to put the Americans in a different think zone. The Iranians along with Hezbollah would be able to break their international isolation, gain access to valuable resources, undermine the United States in the region and establish a new platform to continue their war with the U.S.
 
In October 2011 many Americans were shocked to find out that a dual national Iranian-American was acting on the behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force involved in a plot to assassinate the Saudi Arabia Ambassador in Washington. The individual also had links to Mexican drug cartels. Iran and Hezbollah already had ties to Mexican drug alliances and were involved in people and drug smuggling into the United States. Hezbollah had been teaching drug cartels how to use Improvised Explosive Devices (IED’s) and the use of Vehicle Bourne Improvised Explosive Devices (VBIED) to great effect and the Hezbollah knowledge in building underground tunnels across the border. Both the drug cartels and the Iranians benefit from the relationship.
 
Iran and Hezbollah have been trafficking illegal immigrants into the United States through Mexico which could be used to set up sleeper cells. In the event of a major conflict between the two countries these sleeper cells would be activated to create damage and give Americans a doubt as to the government being able to protect them on their home turf.
 
Iran continued to apply weight on the southern area of the Americas. Venezuela opened its doors to the Iranians with regular flights to its country directly from Iran, opening a supermarket and enticing the Venezuelan government with the idea of purchasing missiles.  Iranian naval fleets making regular trips to the South American port by the Iranian navy would definitely give the Americans another perspective to look at.
 
These moves by Iran would give the United States another challenging approach to consider should America consider attacking the Iranians in the future. Venezuela is the hub of the Iranian development and advancement in the southern hemisphere and would no doubt escalate and expand in the future. The Iranians already use South America to launder money in some cases using the United States to do so.
 
Venezuelan Presidency
 
Hugo Chávez served as president from 1999 until his death on the 5th March 2013. Nicolás Maduro Moros, who had been serving as vice president, became the interim president following Chávez's death and was subsequently elected to the position in a special election in April 2013. Nicolás Maduro rose to prominence under the leadership of left-wing President Hugo Chávez and his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
 
Maduro has ruled by decree for the majority of his presidency. Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged promulgation of law by a single person or group of people, usually without legislative approval. Rule by decree is often a key feature of dictatorships. Governments often issue decrees in order to bypass the conventional means of making laws.
 
The U.S. Department of State on the 7th August 2025 offered a $50 million reward for Maduro’s arrest and/or conviction. The State Department detailed: Maduro helped manage and ultimately lead the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan drug-trafficking organization comprised of high-ranking Venezuelan officials. As he gained power in Venezuela, Maduro participated in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.  Maduro negotiated multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine; directed the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles) to provide military-grade weapons to the FARC; coordinated with narcotics traffickers in Honduras and other countries to facilitate large-scale drug trafficking; and solicited assistance from FARC leadership in training an unsanctioned militia group that functioned, in essence, as an armed forces unit for the Cartel of the Suns.
 
In March 2020, Maduro was charged in the Southern District of New York for narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
 
In 2019, the National Assembly of Venezuela invoked the Venezuelan constitution and declared that Maduro had usurped power and was not the president of Venezuela.  Since 2019, more than 50 countries, including the United States, have refused to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s head of state.
 
Major Terrorist Incidents
Masih Alinejad fled from Iran in 2009 following presidential elections and a government crackdown. Alinejad lives in Brooklyn and has family still in Iran but is now a U.S. citizen, and a longtime critic of the Iranian government. She was a journalist in her native Iran for several years until she fled the country.
She has continued to work as a journalist with her Voice of America Persian show in the U.S. Alinejad also organizes "White Wednesday" and "My Stealthy Freedom" campaigns where women film themselves without head coverings, or hijabs, in public in Iran — in a challenge to the nation's government.
It was announced in July 2021 in a 43-page indictment unsealed on the 13th July 2021 detailing the plan by an Iranian intelligence official and his three assets to track a Brooklyn-based journalist with the goal of bringing her back to Iran.
Members of the Iranian intelligence was exploring ways to spirit the journalist from her home in Brooklyn and take her by speedboat out to sea, and then to Venezuela, which maintains friendly ties with Tehran.
The speedboat scheme appears to have been considered only after the failure of efforts to persuade the target’s family to lure her to a third country in the Middle East, from where she would have been seized by Iranian agents, a technique used by Tehran in two other incidents.
“About eight months or so ago, the FBI warned me that there was a plot against me,” Alinejad said. “I said that’s not exactly news, I get death threats daily. The next thing is that the FBI tell me that I’m being targeted, that I am under photo and video surveillance in an operation by the intelligence ministry.
According to the US charges, the plot to abduct Alinejad was part of a broader kidnapping campaign developed by the Iranian intelligence ministry, with intended targets in Canada, the UK and the UAE.
Iran's government said the allegations were "ridiculous and baseless". Terms used when Iran has been caught with their hand in the biscuit tin.
A second attempt was made against Alinejad in late July 2022, a hitman was standing on the front porch of her home in Brooklyn, New York. The man, bearded and wearing a black T-shirt and baggy black shorts, had allegedly been hired as part of a plot hatched in Iran to assassinate Alinejad.
When she didn’t answer the door, the suspect returned to his car and drove off, running a stop sign near her house. The police pulled him over and found an AK-47-style rifle in the back seat of his car. He was arrested, and from there the FBI unravelled what prosecutors say was a murder-for-hire scheme directed from Iran to assassinate Alinejad.
Argentina Terrorist Attack
The Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina is a Jewish Community Centre located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translated it is Argentine Israelite Mutual Association a Jewish Community Centre.
A suicide attack, a Vehicle Bourne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED) was driven into the AMIA building and subsequently detonated, killing 85 people and injuring over 300 on the 18th July 1994. To date, the bombing remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Argentine history.
In 1994, Argentina was home to a Jewish community of 200,000, making it the largest in Latin America and the sixth-largest in the world outside of Israel.
The bombing came two years after the 17th March 1992 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires which killed 29 and wounded 242, and was Argentina's deadliest attack until the AMIA bombing. The Islamic Jihad Organization, which according to Robert Baer operates under the umbrella of Hezbollah and was linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for that bombing.
On the 27th January 2013, the Government of Argentina announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran to establish a "truth commission" to investigate the AMIA bombing.
It was announced on the 12th April 2024 in the Guardian that a new ruling by Argentina’s highest criminal court had blamed Iran for the fatal 1994 attack against a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, declaring it a “crime against humanity” in a decision that paves the way for victims to seek justice.
Argentina’s judiciary has long maintained Iran was behind the attack, but joint investigations and Interpol arrest warrants have led nowhere. Iran has refused to turn over citizens convicted in Argentina and denied any involvement.
Argentina in April 2024 had asked Interpol to issue an arrest notice for the Iranian interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi. Argentina has in the past accused Mr Vahidi, who led the overseas operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (ICRGC) at the time of the attack, of being one of the masterminds behind the bombing.
On the 10th April 2025 the Argentinian Prosecutor Sebastián Basso, who replaced the late Alberto Nisman, asked federal judge Daniel Rafecas to issue national and international arrest warrants for the Iranian Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei, according to the Argentine paper Clarin.
Basso also requested the application of trial in absentia for the remaining Iranian and Lebanese suspects named in the case.
Some of the high-level officials accused in the bombing case include former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who has since died, then-Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, and former Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahian.
Others include former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaee, former Quds Force commander Ahmad Vahidi, former Iranian diplomat Ahmad Reza Asghari, former cultural attaché Mohsen Rabbani, and Imad Mughniyeh, the late Hezbollah operations chief.
The move follows the passage of a law promoted by President Javier Milei, allowing trials in absentia in cases involving grave crimes.
President Javier Milei blamed the “fanatical government of Iran” for the bombing and linked the 1994 attack to the 7th October 2023, assault by Hamas on Israel. “The terrorism of that tragic 7th October is exactly the same terrorism that attacked us 30 years ago.”
On the 15th April 2025, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in Jorge Mariano Jordan, Argentina’s chargé d'affaires in Tehran, to express Tehran's firm objection to a decision by Argentine prosecutor Sebastián Basso, who issued arrest warrants for several high-ranking Iranian officials in connection with the bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires.
 
In a statement released on the 16th April 2025, Iran's Foreign Ministry stated: "In response to the unlawful and internationally improper actions taken by the Argentine Prosecutor’s Office, the chargé d'affaires of Argentina in Tehran was summoned by Issa Kameli, Director General for the Americas at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kameli delivered the Islamic Republic of Iran’s official protest note to the Argentine diplomat."
 
During the meeting with the Argentine diplomat, Kameli firmly rejected the accusations made by the Argentine judiciary. He denounced the charges as baseless and asserted that they represented a significant deviation from the prolonged and unresolved judicial process related to the bombing. He further pointed out that the blame placed on Iran only served to deepen the ambiguities surrounding the case—ambiguities that have long been exacerbated by external influences, particularly those associated with the Zionist regime, which has used the case for its political advantage.
 
Iran uses the word “baseless” when it has been caught with its hand in the sweet jar.
 
While Argentine courts have focused on Iran and Hezbollah for the 1990s attacks, Venezuela entered the conversation in the context of ongoing Iranian influence in the region.
 
Some reports and political figures have alleged that former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez brokered a deal in which Iran financed a past Argentine presidential campaign in exchange for Argentina dropping its investigation into the bombings.
 
In June 2022, an incident involving a Venezuelan-operated cargo plane (Emtrasur, a subsidiary of a U.S.-sanctioned Venezuelan airline) grounded in Buenos Aires drew significant international attention. The plane had a mixed Venezuelan and Iranian crew, some of whom were suspected of having ties to Iran's Quds Force (the overseas branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.). While no evidence of chargeable crimes was found regarding that specific flight, the incident highlighted persistent concerns about Venezuela potentially serving as a hub for Iranian activity in Latin America.
 
Argentina and Hamas
Argentina officially designated Hamas as an international terrorist organization and ordered the freezing of its financial assets in July 2024. President Javier Milei announced the decision, making Argentina the first country in Latin America to take this step.
The decision was based on attacks on the 7th October 2023 against Israel, in which seven Argentine citizens died and others were taken hostage; Hamas's links with Iran, which the Argentine justice system holds responsible for the terrorist attacks against the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the AMIA in 1994, the deadliest attacks in the country's history.
Russia Adds to the Mix
 
On the 10th December 2018 open-source networks reported that Russia had sent two nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela. A deployment that came amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions.
 
Russia’s Defence Ministry said a pair Tu-160 bombers landed at Maiquetia airport outside Caracas, Venezuela’s capital following a 10,000-kilometer (6,200-mile) flight. It didn’t say if the bombers were carrying any weapons and didn’t say how long they will stay in Venezuela.
 
The Tu-160 is capable of carrying conventional or nuclear-tipped cruise missiles with a range of 5,500 kilometres (3,410 miles). Such bombers took part in Russia's campaign in Syria, where they launched conventionally-armed Kh-101 cruise missiles for the first time in combat.
 
The bombers' deployment followed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's visit to Moscow in a bid to shore up political and economic assistance even as his country was struggling to pay billions of dollars owed to Russia. Russia is a major political ally of Venezuela.
 
Venezuela and Hezbollah Connection
 
Marzia Giambertoni of the RAND Corportaion explained; Hezbollah's Latin American footprint is neither new nor theoretical. The organization has maintained a presence in the region since the early 1980s, establishing networks that span at least 12 countries from Mexico to Argentina. Their composition—a complex web of direct operatives, ideological supporters, opportunistic criminal partners, and diaspora community members with varying degrees of organizational connection—makes these networks particularly challenging to counter.
 
Atlantic Council 7th October 2020. The Maduro-Hezbollah Nexus: How Iran-backed Networks Prop up the Venezuelan Regime.
 
Hezbollah is responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks in Israel, Lebanon, Kuwait, Argentina, Panama, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Bulgaria. In Latin America, it is infamously known for the bombings of the Israeli embassy in 1992 and the Association Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community centre in 1994, both in Buenos Aires, collectively killing one hundred and fourteen people and injuring hundreds more. The AMIA attack shocked many counterterrorism analysts at the time because it was the first terrorist attack by Hezbollah outside of Lebanon or the Middle East. The long arm of Iran and Hezbollah’s terror networks is also suspected of downing the Alas Chiricanas Flight 00901 in Panama the day after the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires, killing all twenty-one passengers aboard.
 
The Hezbollah terror network that moved from Lebanon to Colombia to the Tri-Border Area, between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina—to carry out the 1994 AMIA attack—is still active today. The work of the late Argentine special prosecutor Alberto Nisman ensured that Latin America remembers this fact. Since the AMIA attack, Hezbollah’s External Security Organization (ESO) or “Unit 910,” responsible for its extraterritorial operations, has successfully co-opted many Lebanese families throughout Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean.
 
Throughout the years, Hezbollah’s ESO has morphed from merely a terrorist network in Latin America to engage in the region’s most lucrative illicit enterprise: narcotics. Of the more than two thousand individuals and entities around the world designated by the US government as foreign narcotics kingpins, almost two hundred are affiliated with or connected to Hezbollah.
 
Hezbollah's criminal activities in Venezuela primarily involve drug trafficking, money laundering, and arms smuggling, often with the complicity and embedded support of high-ranking officials within the Venezuelan government. These activities leverage a strategic alliance between Iran, Hezbollah, and the Maduro regime.
 
Key criminal activities include:
 
Drug Trafficking: Hezbollah operatives are heavily involved in the cocaine trade, moving large shipments through Venezuela via maritime routes and clandestine airstrips, often in partnership with transnational criminal organizations like the FARC in Colombia and Mexican cartels.
 
Money Laundering: The organization uses sophisticated networks, including the Venezuelan banking sector and a free trade zone on Margarita Island, to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, often through businesses like used car sales and casinos.
 
Document Fraud: Networks linked to Hezbollah participate in large-scale operations to produce falsified travel and identification documents (passports, national ID cards), which enables operatives to travel undetected across borders.
 
Arms Smuggling: Hezbollah has been linked to the illegal procurement and smuggling of weapons, which are then used to support their operations and those of their allies in the region.
 
Other Illicit Financing: The group also generates funds through oil smuggling, black market currency exchange, counterfeiting goods and currency, and illegal mining.
 
These activities are facilitated by a political environment of corruption and an "ungoverned space" that the Venezuelan government has allowed to flourish, with some Hezbollah-linked individuals holding positions within the state security apparatus. U.S. authorities have sanctioned numerous individuals and entities in Latin America for their roles in these financial networks, including former Venezuelan officials.
 
Largely driven by narcotics trafficking, Hezbollah operatives can largely move to and from Venezuela discretely and many have roots in Venezuela's sizable Lebanese community. Embedded within Maduro's security apparatus and intelligence network, Hezbollah-linked agents and operatives launder money for the Iranian-backed terrorist organization and its sponsors in Tehran.
 
This clandestine foothold in Venezuela provides Iran and Hezbollah with closer access to the U.S. homeland as well as potential soft military targets in the Western hemisphere.
 
Hezbollah and Drugs
 
Hezbollah is estimated to make hundreds of millions of dollars annually from its involvement in the Latin American drug trade, including operations linked to Venezuela, with some sources citing figures up to $400 million or more a year from narcotics globally. Specific amounts directly attributable only to activities within Venezuela are difficult to isolate, but estimates for the Venezuela-linked trade suggest figures potentially in the $300–$500 million range annually.
 
Since Hezbollah’s war with Israel (8th October 2023 – 27th November 2024) and more importantly the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad (December 2024) Hezbollah has had problems rebuilding itself after a major defeat by Israel. Iran is having a much harder time getting money to Hezbollah in a timely manner.
 
Matthew Levitt (Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of its Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence) said, “Hezbollah has a long history of turning to its diaspora networks when it’s facing financial stress.”
 
U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate International Narcotics Control Caucus, said the group “is one of Iran’s tools to destabilize and terrorize,” adding that “if we target Hezbollah’s financing, we can deny them the opportunity to rebuild.”
 
The Ayman Joumaa network – which the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) exposed in 2011 and Treasury linked to Hezbollah in 2012 – was laundering up to $200 million a month for Mexican and Colombian cartels. Joumaa, according to the DEA, took a hefty 8-14% commission for his services. Assuming the 2018 estimates are correct, the Joumaa operation alone would have generated at least two-thirds of Hezbollah’s annual revenue from illicit activities. And while Joumaa’s operation was eventually disrupted, his complex scheme to launder drug proceeds continued to operate long after sanctions and indictments were made public.
 
Joumaa’s money laundering organization was not the only game in town. The DEA estimated Hezbollah’s proceeds from drug trafficking alone to have been higher than the overall U.S. estimate of its global fundraising efforts. A 2016 DEA affidavit filed with a Florida court in a Hezbollah money laundering case put the value of Hezbollah’s annual proceeds from narcotics at $400 million – and even that might now be a conservative estimate. 
 
Moreover, the illicit global narcotics trade isn’t Hezbollah’s only source of revenue. Hezbollah plays a large part in the illicit economy of the Tri-Border region of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay, which is said to generate at least $5 billion a year in illicit transactions. The group likewise helps Venezuela’s regime launder money through multiple way points, and it runs several fraudulent schemes in West Africa.
 
Iran provides substantial funding to Hezbollah, with estimates suggesting Iran funnelled over $700 million annually to the group around 2020, contributing significantly to its estimated $1 billion annual budget, while the rest comes from illicit activities and control over Lebanese state resources. This support includes arms, training, and direct cash transfers, though exact figures fluctuate yearly.
 
With Iran being strictly handicapped in providing funds to Hezbollah its drug trade in Venezuela and other Latin American countries is of great use to the group to fund its war against Israel. Cut this form revenue off or severely reduce it and it would cause Hezbollah to scale back its war against Israel and the money for its supporters in Lebanon.
 
The Islamic Republic of Iran and Latin America
 
Iran's key allies in South America and the broader Latin American region include Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Nicaragua, forming a bloc often united by anti-US sentiment and economic cooperation, with Iran providing military tech (drones), training, and trade in areas like oil, biotech, and cyber security, while leveraging cultural centres and media (like HispanTV) to expand influence against Western hegemony.
 
Iran provides military technology (drones) and training, particularly to Bolivia and Venezuela, while boosting trade in sectors like energy and technology.
 
LTG Raymond Palumbo, USA (ret) and Yoni Tobin who is a senior policy analyst at Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) explained in August 2025 that the Iran-Venezuela strategic partnership has matured into a robust, multi-dimensional alliance, impacting both regional security and US foreign policy calculations. Iran and Venezuela’s cooperation span’s the social, political, diplomatic, economic, and military domains — and is directly influencing the US posture toward Venezuela, including the recent military buildup near its shores and targeted strikes on drug trafficking operations.
 
Iran has used this leverage to establish a robust foothold in Latin America, constructing a dense network involving both direct state-to-state links and the integration of proxy actors like Hezbollah. The bilateral relationship has been solidified by defence pacts, including a 20-year agreement signed in 2022, and joint manufacturing of Iranian drones and weapons on Venezuelan soil, including potential deployments of loitering munitions and jamming devices.
 
Venezuela has long served as a launchpad for Iranian operations to establish a foothold in South America. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) its Quds Force and Iran’s Intelligence Ministry have all had a presence in Venezuela. The Quds Force has used economic delegations to Venezuela and other countries around the world as cover for terrorist activity. The Quds Force Unit 840 which plots terror schemes abroad has historically been active in Venezuela.
 
From an article in the Defencenet.com (19th September 2009) which states the interests, which lie behind Iran 's desire to strengthen relations with Latin America, are:
 
i) To improve Iran 's strategic position vis-à-vis the United States by posing a potential threat and creating a kind of balance of power which will challenge America by collaborating with revolutionary countries in Latin America and establishing a significant presence on their soil.
 
ii) Economically, to erode the sanctions imposed on Iran through new markets. That can be done by coordinating prices with the major oil exporting countries.
 
iii) To damage Israel 's relations with Latin American countries, for example the severing of Israel 's diplomatic relations with both Venezuela and Bolivia during Operation Cast Lead. In addition, such a situation creates an internal political climate which encourages attacks on Jewish communities in Latin America, as witnessed by the vandalizing of the largest synagogue in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
 
iv) To create intelligence and terrorism networks which will provide Iran with operational options to respond to events or initiate terrorist attacks against Israel and the United States, under the right circumstances when the order is given. Iran uses its proxy Hezbollah, whose activities and presence are widespread and increased in Latin America, including in ordinary crime such a drug dealing.
 
v) To spread Iranian, Khomeini-inspired Shi'ite Islam to the non-Muslim communities in Latin America, and at the same time to disseminate the ideology of the Iranian Islamic revolution and Iranian political influence in Muslim communities, especially Shi'ite-Lebanese (part of Iranian activities around the world).
 
Venezuela and the Islamic Republic of Iran
 
Iran’s incursion into Venezuela has been extremely lucrative. Venezuela had fostered a good relationship with the former President Hugo Chavez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who both shared a hatred of the United States. The two countries had signed economic and military agreements that valued into billions of dollars, but according to reports very few of the joint agreements were successful. But since these agreements were signed under the Chavista era the Nicolas Maduro regime has kept warm relations with Iran.
 
At the time it appeared that the relationship between Iran and Venezuela was going nowhere whilst both countries weighed up the future with the unrest within the South American country. After a short period of agitation, Maduro appeared to win through. This then made the future more secure and Iran then stepped up its operation to gain a stronger and more secure foothold in Venezuela.
 
It was reported on the 1st December 2018 that Iran had launched a domestically made navel destroyer which the Iranian state media reported to have radar-evading stealth properties amongst other capabilities. At that time the Iranians also reported that it was to send two or three naval vessels to Venezuela on a mission that could last five months including its latest ship.
 
On the 4th January 2019 Iran announced that it was deploying warships in the Atlantic Ocean in March 2019 and the operation may take up to five months. The newly built Sahand which was announced in early January 2018 would be part of the flotilla. One of the reasons for sending the small fleet was in response to the fifth fleet presence which was based in Bahrain and an attempt to place pressure on the United States.
 
It was unsure as to why the Iranians would deploy naval vessels to the area. It is possible that it would remove gold mined in the Venezuela and ship it back to Iran. The possibility of the gold price being used to prop up a falling Iranian economy due to United States sanctions was a potential reason. However, this theory would turn out to be incorrect.
 
The announcement to deploy the Iranian ships was made before the previous Venezuelan unrest. The vessels may also be used to collect finances from Iran/Hezbollah’s illegal money laundering and drug activities; it would be a safe and secure manner of transporting the money or gold back to Iran without United States or other military navies stopping and searching the vessels. 
 
Venezuelan Gold
 
Up until the 20th century gold was relied upon to back up hard currency known as the “Gold Standard.” Under this method a government would guarantee that a specific amount of paper money could be redeemed for a fixed quantity of gold held in the reserve. It was replaced by a term known as “flat currencies.”
 
The gold standard was abandoned in the 2oth century by the United States formally ending the international convertibility of the dollar to gold in 1971. The system was found to be inflexible, making it difficult for governments and central banks to respond effectively to financial crises or manage economic growth, as the money supply was limited by the amount of physical gold available. In a modern flat money system, central banks use monetary policy tools, such as adjusting interest rates, to manage the money supply and stabilize the economy.
 
While gold no longer directly backs currencies, central banks around the world still hold substantial gold reserves.
 
In May 2020 Al-Arabiya News reported that out of cash and desperate for help in propping up its oil industry, Venezuela was raiding its gold vaults and handing tons of bars to its long-time ally Iran. Venezuelan government officials piled approximately 9 tons of gold – an amount equal to about $500 million – on Tehran-bound aircraft in May as payment for Iran’s assistance in reviving Venezuela’s crippled gasoline refineries. Venezuela’s 1.3 million-bpd refining network had all but collapsed due to under-investment and lack of maintenance.
 
Iran was the latest destination for Venezuelan gold after the US cracked down on similar deals that the Nicolas Maduro regime was conducting with Russia and Turkey.
 
Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro defended the right to “freely trade with Iran,” rejecting criticism following a gasoline vessel sent from the Middle East country to aid the fuel-starved South American nation.
 
Gasoline and Food
 
Iran had been sending multiple fuel tankers to Venezuela to address gasoline shortages. The first shipment arrived in a flotilla of tankers that, in defiance of U.S. sanctions, entered Venezuelan waters between 24th May and 31st May 2020, carrying a combined 1.5 million barrels of gasoline. In June another vessel arrived with an estimated 300,000 barrels, and three others brought 820,000 barrels between the 28th September and the 4th October. Between December 2020 and January 2021 another flotilla would have carried 2.3 million barrels. To this total of at least 5 million barrels of gasoline should be added the arrival of 2.1 million barrels of condensate to be used as a diluent for Venezuelan extra-heavy oil.
 
Venezuela was purchasing sanctioned Iranian oil.
 
Iran’s oil is heavily sanctioned and looks for outlets to sell the commodity. With Venezuela’s oil industry in shambles, it’s an easy outlet for Iran to sell its oil not just to Venezuela but also to Russia and China. The Maduro government is also under heavy sanctions but with both governments sanctioned the swapping of oil for food and medical supplies works for both countries. (It is important to know that there are no sanctions on Iranian medical supplies)
 
“The first of an expected five Iranian vessels bringing millions of barrels of gasoline and components arrived,” Maduro said on state TV. The socialist leader thanked the former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for the deliveries, saying Venezuela has “good and brave friends in the world.”
 
Maduro defended the deal as part of a previous cooperation agreement. “We, Venezuela and Iran, want peace,” he said. “We have the right to freely trade products throughout the seas of the world.”
 
The delivery was announced by Vice President for Economy and Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami. “Ships from our sister Islamic Republic of Iran are already in our exclusive economic zone,” El Aissami wrote on Saturday night.
 
Venezuela’s armed forces escorted the vessel as it entered Venezuelan waters. Iran’s embassy in Caracas also tweeted about the arrival. A second vessel, the Forest, will also soon arrive in Venezuela, Iran’s state TV news reported, without giving more details.
 
On the 29th September 2020 in open defiance of US sanctions, the Forest, the first of three Iranian oil tankers, had entered Venezuelan territorial waters off the coast of Sucre state with its tracking system turned off, according to reports from MarineTraffic.com and TankerTrackers.com.
 
The Forest departed Bandar Abbas, Iran, on the 9th August. It is an oil tanker built in 2004 and flies the Iranian flag. Bandar Abbas is a key naval base for Iran, heavily utilized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy for housing assets like drones, missile systems, and fast attack craft, adjacent to the massive Shahid Rajaee commercial port, making it a significant military and trade hub near the Strait of Hormuz.
 
Major General Seyyed Yahya Safavi, assistant and senior advisor to the Supreme Commander of the Iranian Armed Forces, confirmed the entire process involving the shipment of gasoline to Venezuela, which was paid for with gold. We gave gasoline to Venezuela and obtained gold bars and brought the gold to Iran by plane so that nothing would happen to it."
 
Caracas and Tehran Direct Flights
 
Venezuela becomes even more important to Iran and is seen as the backdoor to the United States. On the 9th April 2019 the Iranians sent a delegation to Venezuela to discuss direct commercial flights between the two countries. Iran’s ‘Mahan Air’ in March 2019 had adopted this route but in 2018 Mahan was sanctioned by the office of Foreign Asset Control and banned by Germany, France and later Italy for transporting military aid to Syria in 2008. As of January 2020, Mahan Air is not allowed to operate flights into Europe as it has been blacklisted. But, still operates between Asia and Africa.
 
Mahan Airlines was banned between 2019 – 2020 from Germany, France, Italy and Spain due to its involvement with the Maduro government in Venezuela and the Assad regime in Syria. In 2024 the airline was sanctioned by the European Union for transporting weapons to Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
 
On the 13th January 2025, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) announced that flights between Iran and Europe would resume on the 31st January 2025. The first route to reopen will be between Tehran and Paris, operated by Iranian private carrier Iran Airtour Airlines.
 
Flights between Iran and Europe were suspended in mid-October 2024 after the European Union imposed sanctions on Iran over allegations it had sent drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war. Those sanctions specifically targeted Iran Air, Saha Airlines and Mahan Air, although the allegations were dismissed by the Iranian authorities who strongly protested against the aviation bans, which it said only affected the Iranian citizens living and working in Europe.
 
Currently there is a lot of sea and air traffic between Iran and Venezuela. According to the web page of Skyscanner there are 58 flights per week. Iran is well known for smuggling weapons and other military logistics on commercial airlines, this leads to the possibility of a similar action. With no real ability to check on manifests or cargos as they leave their destination the capacity to abuse this to Iran’s own gains leaves it wide open. In 2010 Turkish officials seized 22 Iranian shipping containers bound for Venezuela which were labelled as ‘tractor parts’ but reportedly contained material for an explosive laboratory.
 
Venezuela-Iran ghost flights: The Venezuela-Iran ghost flights are clandestine and irregular flight routes from Venezuela to Iran and back. Some flights would pass through Syria and Paraguay. These flights, known as "aeroterror", were closed to the public and operated by sanctioned airlines such as Conviasa, Emtrasur Cargo, and Mahan Air. Due to their alleged role in facilitating the transport of weapons, gold, sanctioned cargo, and personnel linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah, these flights raised international concern.
 
These ghost flights were mainly operated by Mahan Air.
 
Supermarket
 
On the 22nd June 2020 Iran and Venezuela announce that an Iranian supermarket would open in Venezuela. On the 6th July 2020 a conglomerate owned by the Iranian military and tied to Iran’s ‘missile program’ established a retail foothold in Venezuela. The Etka, an Iranian company subordinate to the Iranian Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces (MODAFL) and tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) company opened the supermarket called Megasis with the purpose of boosting the production of Iranian commodities.
 
The store covers an area of 20,000 sq. mtrs and sells more than 2,500 Iranian items. Such as foodstuff, clothing, detergents, plastic disposable products, nuts and even tractors. The Iranian population voiced their dismay especially as millions lived below the poverty line and the government was “unable to assist” their needs for society. Rising inflation, growing unemployment, a slump in the rial due to sanctions would not help Iran. It is possible that this supermarket may be used to launder money.
 
There are primary controversies and allegations surrounding the supermarket.
 
One Million Hectares of Land in Venezuela
 
In September 2022 an Iranian official said on Iranian PRESSTV that Venezuela had agreed to provide one million hectares of agricultural land for Iran’s overseas cultivation projects to secure food.
 
Announcing the agreement, Ali Rezvanizadeh said Venezuela could provide a better opportunity than Brazil and Russia for Iran’s overseas agricultural projects, including growing crops of soy beans and corn.
 
Experts say the biggest advantage of overseas cultivation for Iran is preserving its precious water resources. Iran’s agriculture uses around 85 percent of all available water resources. It would also potentially contribute to the country’s food security, a great concern of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who has been an ardent promoter of agricultural self-sufficiency over the past three decades.
 
Iran is currently (2025) suffering from its worst ever drought. Although blamed on climate change the main reasons are mismanagement, corruption and the building of water dams in the wrong place are other reasons which is not readily admitted by the Iranian government. Farmland in Tehran has practically dried up over the years for lack of water.
 
Venezuela, Iran and Long-Range Missiles
 
In February 2012 in a paper written by Norman A Bailey for the American Foreign Policy Council, titled; “Iran’s Venezuelan Gateway,” pointed out on page four that, “Recent reports that Iran has established missile bases in Venezuela, however, remain unconfirmed. Recently on the 23rd August 2020 A Reuters article titled; “Maduro says Venezuela buying Iranian missiles ‘a good idea’.
 
Should this occur then we may see a similar action to that of the Soviets in 1962 attempting to place nuclear weapons on Cuban territory. Fortunately, the Soviets/Russians backed down and war was avoided.
 
If Iran sold missiles to Venezuela, then there would have been a possibility that the Venezuelans could produce their own missiles under Iranian influence and guidance. This would then place the Americans in direct contact similar to the Palestinians Vs Israel the Houthis Vs Saudi Arabians (2nd April 2015 – Present). Iran allows Hezbollah, Hamas and other affiliates along with Yemen’s Houthis building their own drones and missiles from technology supplied by Iran.
 
With the coast of Florida in the United States being approximately 1,200 miles away from Venezuela the southern part of certain areas in the United States are reachable. The Sejjil medium range ballistic missile (MRBM) has a range of 1,250 miles and the Soumar cruise missile has a range of 1,250 – 1,850 miles Iran through its new proxy (Venezuela) could easily reach the United States. It must also be remembered that Iran is constantly working on longer range missiles for ‘defence’ purposes. If they continue to research greater missile distances and have them stationed in Venezuela then more of the United States would become a target.
 
On the 26th October 2020 in a report by Fox News, that the United States warned that it would destroy potential Iranian long-range missile shipments delivered to the Maduro regime in Venezuela, a senior administration official informed Fox News.
 
"The transfer of long-range missiles from Iran to Venezuela is not acceptable to the United States and will not be tolerated or permitted," said Elliott Abrams, the State Department Special Representative for Iran and Venezuela.
 
"We will make every effort to stop shipments of long-range missiles, and if somehow they get to Venezuela they will be eliminated there," added a senior administration official.
 
However, on the 3rd October 2025 the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) [a non-partisan, non-profit, public policy research organization that advances an informed understanding of military affairs through reliable research, trusted analysis, and innovative education] Iran update explained that; Venezuela recently requested military equipment, including drones, from Iran amid heightened tensions between Venezuela and the United States, according to internal US government documents obtained by The Washington Post. It is unclear if Iran is willing and able to export drones and other military equipment to Venezuela after the Israel-Iran War.
 
Venezuelan Transport Minister Ramon Celestino Velasquez reportedly “coordinated a shipment of military equipment and drones from Iran” and informed Iran that it requires “passive detection equipment,” GPS jamming devices, and drones with a range of 1,000 kilometres (approximately 600 miles).
 
Iran has outsourced some of its drone production to Venezuela over the past decade, including the production of Mohajer-6 drones, which have a range of 200 kilometres (approximately 124 miles).
 
Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated on the 3rd November that Venezuela can defend itself, but that Iran will “certainly” continue to cooperate with Venezuela.
 
It’s possible that the government of Iran will support Venezuela as it did with its proxies, Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. The only support they had during the latest round of conflict was the selling of drones, missiles, weapons and ammunition with encouragement but at the last-minute Iran never stepped up to the mark to assist them leaving their proxies to face their fate with only words of support from Iran.
 
Prior to the ISW report the Iranian Tehran Times wrote; Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto has expressed his gratitude to Iran for backing the Latin American nation in the face of US military threats and pressure.
 
 
The presidents developed a notably close personal and political relationship, highlighted by frequent state visits, public demonstrations of solidarity, and formal agreements spanning the economic, energy, and industrial sectors. Today, both countries maintain comprehensive diplomatic ties via their official embassies and frequent high-level exchanges. The partnership intensified under current Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and includes regular presidential meetings, official delegation visits, and joint commission sessions.
 
Iran has used this leverage to establish a robust foothold in Latin America, constructing a dense network involving both direct state-to-state links and the integration of proxy actors like Hezbollah. The bilateral relationship has been solidified by defence pacts, including a 20-year agreement signed in 2022, and joint manufacturing of Iranian drones and weapons on Venezuelan soil, including potential deployments of loitering munitions and jamming devices.
 
On the 11th December 2025 Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has unveiled a new jet-powered, stealth-oriented suicide drone, designed to evade modern air defences with high speed and low radar visibility. Named the Hadid-110, it emphasizes speed, stealth, and rapid deployment.
 
According to specifications listed by the US military’s OE Data Integration Network, with its jet engine, the Hadid-110 can reportedly fly up to 517 km. an hour at an altitude of 90,000 m. and reach targets some 350 km. away – making it Iran’s fastest flying UAS to date.
 
Although this UAS could not reach the United States from Venezuela in the hands of a Mexican drug cartel it would do. The question that needs to be asked is how long would it be before these drones are manufactured in Venezuela under Iranian supervision and used by those who seek vengeance against the United States?
 
Economically, the alliance is built on mutual circumvention of Western sanctions.
 
Iran is actively assisting Venezuela's arms industry, a relationship that includes technology transfer, joint manufacturing of drones, and the potential transfer of missile systems. This cooperation, which circumvents international sanctions, is a key component of a broader strategic anti-Western alliance between the two nations.
 
Key Areas of Cooperation
 
Drone Production: Iran has played a central role in the development of Venezuela's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program. As early as 2012, Venezuela confirmed it was producing drones with Iranian assistance. Venezuelan state-owned manufacturer, Compañía Anónima Venezolana de Industrias Militares (CAVIM), produces models based on Iranian designs like the Mohajer-2 (known locally as the Arpia) and the advanced attack-capable Mohajer-6. Reports indicate that Iranian personnel control some of these production facilities in Venezuela.
 
Missile Technology: There have been reports and accusations over the years concerning discussions and potential agreements for the transfer or joint development of missile technology. In 2022, Israel's Defence Minister alleged that Iran had provided Venezuela with precision-guided missiles for use with the Mohajer-6 drones.
 
Military and Technical Expertise: Iranian military advisors and technical teams are present in Venezuela, assisting not only with arms production but also with other relevant infrastructure like oil refineries, which helps sustain the overall partnership. The cooperation also extends to using civilian airliners, such as those operated by Conviasa and Mahan Air, as a "dual-use logistical route" for potentially transporting military hardware and personnel.
 
Circumvention of Sanctions: Both countries are heavily sanctioned by Western powers and use various methods, including oil-for-gold barter systems and opaque financial transactions involving state-owned companies like PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, SA is a Venezuelan state-owned company whose main activities are the exploration, production, refining, marketing and transportation of Venezuelan oil, as well as the orimulsion, chemical, petrochemical and coal businesses) and CAVIM, (The Venezuelan Military Industries Corporation is a public company in Venezuela dedicated to the development of weaponry, ammunition, explosives, military machinery and technological development used by the Armed Forces) to fund and conceal these military projects and transfers.
 
Strategic Alliance: The military cooperation is underpinned by a deep political alliance and a shared anti-U.S. posture, formalized by a 20-year cooperation agreement signed in 2022. The relationship provides Iran with a strategic foothold in Latin America, which U.S. officials view as a security threat.
 
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in August 2020 said it would be a “good idea” to look into buying missiles from Iran, a day after Colombia said Venezuela was considering such a plan amid growing ties between Caracas and Tehran.
 
“It had not occurred to me, it had not occurred to us,” Maduro said during a televised broadcast with cabinet members, instructing Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino to follow up and jokingly telling his cabinet to keep the plan a secret. “Padrino, what a good idea, to speak with Iran to see what short, medium and long-range missiles they have, and if it is possible, given the great relations we have with Iran.”
 
Colombian President Ivan Duque said that Maduro was looking to buy Iranian missiles and is handing over weapons made in Russia and Belarus to Colombian armed groups. Maduro said Duque’s statement was a “good idea” he had not yet considered. “If it is possible and convenient, we will buy those missiles.”
 
The United States Builds a Military Presence off the Coast of Venezuela
 
Trump has made stopping immigration a priority during his second term in office and he blames Maduro for the arrival of a large number of Venezuelan migrants in the US. Since 2013, close to eight million Venezuelans are estimated to have fled the economic crisis and political repression in Venezuela, which have become worse under Maduro.
 
Most have fled to Latin American countries, but hundreds of thousands have gone to the US. Trump has also focused on fighting the influx of drugs - especially fentanyl and cocaine - into the US.
 
As part of his war on drugs, he has designated two Venezuelan criminal groups - Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles - as Foreign Terrorist Organisations and has alleged that the latter is led by Maduro himself.
 
Maduro has vehemently denied being a cartel leader and has accused the US of using its "war on drugs" as an excuse to try and depose him and get its hands on Venezuela's vast reserves of oil.
 
The US has deployed 15,000 troops and a range of aircraft carriers, guided-missile destroyers, and amphibious assault ships to the Caribbean. The stated aim of the deployment - the largest in the region since the US invaded Panama in 1989 - is to stop the flow of fentanyl and cocaine to the US.
 
Since early September 2025, US forces have carried out more than 20 strikes in international waters on boats alleged to have been carrying drugs. More than 80 people have been killed in the strikes.
 
In mid-November 2025, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Operation Southern Spear would begin later in November, with a fleet using robotics and autonomous systems to target Latin American drug trafficking.
 
Air Space
 
While Venezuela has authority over its airspace, on 29 November, Trump announced on social media that airspace over the country should be considered entirely closed, days after he stated that the US would begin to strike land targets "very soon". The Washington Post stated that "such a move is sometimes a first step ahead of airstrikes"; while Trump cannot legally close Venezuela's airspace and he did not impose a no-fly zone, the "threat ... might be enough to prompt commercial airlines to halt flights over Venezuela". Venezuelan officials condemned Trump's statement as a "colonialist threat", stating that Venezuela rejects "orders, threats, or interference from any foreign power."
 
“On behalf of the Bolivarian Government of Venezuela and our President Nicolás Maduro, we wish to express our sincere appreciation for the firm condemnation made by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the recent unilateral action by the United States to declare the closure of Venezuelan airspace,” Pinto said in a post on his Telegram page shared on 30th November.
 
Boat seizure
 
On the 10th December 2025 the United States military seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. US Attorney General Pam Bondi later said that the tanker was used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.
 
The vessel, the Skipper, was named the Adisa when it was sanctioned. The 2022 Treasury statement listed it alongside eight other vessels that it said were part of “a vast, complex, and interwoven global network of front companies that are used to facilitate oil shipments” for a smuggling network.
 
The operation involved “blending oil to conceal the Iranian origins of the shipments and exporting it around the world in support of Hezbollah and the IRGC-QF,” through a network of shell companies in the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, and Singapore, it added.
 
Attorney General Pam Bondi said; "For multiple years, the oil tanker has been sanctioned by the United States due to its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations," she wrote on social media. “Our investigation alongside the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the transport of sanctioned oil continues.”
 
The Iranian embassy in Caracas on the 11th December condemned the United States’ seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker off the South American country’s coast, calling the operation “piracy in the Caribbean Sea” and a clear breach of international law. The embassy said in a statement that the action violated fundamental global norms.
 
"The illegal move by the US government to seize a Venezuelan oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea without any justified or legal reason constitutes a blatant violation of international laws and regulations, including the inviolable principle of freedom of the seas and navigation,” it said.
 
“‘Piracy in the Caribbean Sea' is the most appropriate title for this unlawful and unjustified move by the US, which seeks to achieve its goals by resorting to illegitimate measures, violation of national sovereignty, infringement of others’ rights, and the promotion of anarchism,” it added.
 
Re-Org
Will Venezuela become America’s next arena against Iran?
The unveiling of the United States Operation Southern Spear (13th November 2025) by US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, came just before the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas (10th October 2025) and nearly a year after the Hezbollah/Israel ceasefire (27th November 2024).
Both Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran have lucrative dealings with Venezuela and reap handsome rewards from those transactions with the Maduro government.
The United States Naval task-force off of the coast of Venezuela maybe a long-term plan to exert pressure on Maduro to step aside and hold genuine and authentic elections which would see him replaced with a lawful government.
If the United States assisted an opposition party or a pro-American president with military aid the whole illegal industry that Iran and Hezbollah have set up over the years would be in jeopardy. The action would be a blow in propping up the Iranian economy now and in the future bringing a greater strain to the country and the current sanctioned theocratic leadership.
A pro-U.S. president in place with assistance in rebuilding the former socialist government could then be used to curb the narcotics trade and reduce Iranian and Hezbollah dependency which in turn would create a problem for the Iranian government and the income for Hezbollah. Iran is already under strict U.S., EU and international sanctions. By denying Iran and Hezbollah large sums of revenue would create financial difficulties for both. Funds they would have to find elsewhere in order to prop up their proxies.
Hezbollah is already having problems receiving funds from Iran since the down fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria (8th December 2024). By halting finances from Venezuela as well it would create immense difficulties for the Iranian-backed terrorist group. Hezbollah in its operations against Israel and Iran in supporting and funding its proxies.
So, the build-up of Naval forces by the United States may have other Operational Requirements (OR’s) and not just the reduction of narcotics and the refugees seeking a new life in other Latin America countries and the US. There may be a secondary OR that we are not yet familiar with.
There is also the threat by Iran using Venezuela as a staging point for attacks on the south of the United States. With U.S. President waging war on drug cartels and damaging their drug business it may be that the cartels closest to the United States become launch platforms for drones’ and missiles into America.
Iran still has scores to settle against America for the deaths of its military personnel and its nuclear program. But it will depend on if Iran wants to sacrifice Venezuela. With the reduction of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in a rebuild situation and the Houthis slowly building its resources it’s hardly likely that Iran would martyr Venezuela and lose what it has in South America.
 
Paul Ashley

​When peace comes, we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.
​
Golda Meir. Press conference in London (1969), as quoted in A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography (1973) edited by Marie Syrkin, p. 242

The State of Israel and the Many Wars its Fighting in the Gaza Strip

It’s time to put a few things into perspective regarding the war in the Gaza Strip fought by Israel against the terrorist nationalist group, Hamas and its military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam along with their supporters.

Hamas attacked Israel on the 7th October 2023. That same day Israel declared war on Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip, not, the Palestinian population. On the 8th October 2023 Hezbollah began launching drones and missiles at Israel ‘in support’ of Hamas against Israel.

The leadership of the terrorist group Hamas chose the battle ground it’s as clear and simple as that. Nobody forced the fight elsewhere; Hamas was responsible to fight their guerrilla war against the State of Israel in the Gaza Strip. They claimed they had thought of everything. The illegal taking of Israeli hostages and fighting using the network of tunnels in the small Gaza Strip were not randomly chosen they were planned and funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Do not forget that Israel is standing on its own against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi Iranian backed proxies Kata’ib Hezbollah, Yemen Ansarullah (Houthis) who are disrupting world shipping freight and who commenced attacking sea-going commercial delivery on the 19th November 2023 and who are also disrupting commercial freight and threatening Israel directly, Israel is facing prejudicial press and media coverage, biased reporting of civilian deaths, a biased United Nations, countries holding demonstrations against, what is falsely called Israeli occupation of Palestine. False accusations of a Gaza blockade.

Biased international courts (ICC and the ICJ) who issue and tar Israel with the same brush as terrorist organisations. The Republic of South Africa who bring false claims that are not backed up by facts. The governments of many countries stating, wrongly, that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide. Turkey in its rhetoric declaring that the Israeli leadership is committing genocide and mass murders and is worse that Adolf Hitler. Rich from a country that refuse to own up to its own genocidal history.

There is terrorist activity in the West Bank in order to tie down Israeli troops. False reports of famine in the Gaza Strip and withholding humanitarian aid, demonstrations at home for a quick fix to return the hostages that Hamas and others captured illegally on the 7th October 2023. Israel is fighting against fake news, lies and propaganda;

The American President Joe Biden continually searching for a diplomatic answer to cease the action of the war in Gaza. A Middle Eastern win due to his failings with his electoral promise four years ago of reinstating the 2025 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) in which Republican president Donald Trump pulled away from stating that it was the worst agreement in history as it never reigned in Iran’s dealings with its proxies in the Region and the control of Iranian drones and missiles. The refusal to send certain munitions to assist its war in Gaza against Hamas in an attempt to have a quick fix to the war in the Gaza Strip, after all its election year!

The publishing by the Hamas government (who were not elected but took the Gaza Strip by force) of deaths allegedly caused by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Figures that go unchallenged by major news and media outlets. They cannot be ratified but come from Palestinian government officials that want the deaths of Palestinians to be a part of gaining support and sympathy for their cause against Israel. The figures published do not take into account the deaths of Hamas guerrilla fighters and other terrorist group members which are killed in combat against the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). Claims that Israel has killed women and children. The same children that have been indoctrinated over the years by Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the Gaza Strip to take up arms against Israel. The use of females in military roles against the IDF.

There is no mention about how Hamas, the PIJ and other terrorist groups use its own population as human shields. When the Israeli IDF takes a certain area after fighting Hamas and others they ensure that it is clear of unexploded ordinance and booby traps that may kill or wound civilians. After a period of time civilians are encouraged to move there away from harm and the war, a safe area. Terrorists then return, using undiscovered tunnels, and uses these humanitarian enclaves as safe areas to carry on the war.

Terrorist groups use humanitarian enclaves to hide and commit cowardly terrorist attacks knowing that Israel will retaliate. Although Israel attempts to limit harm away from civilians there will be deaths which the terrorist will deny that it was not their fault allowing Israel to take the blame for any casualties. The same terrorist groups who knowing plan attacks aware that the innocent Palestinian population are being used as pawns in their fight against Israel.

The State of Israel being attacked in the United Nations by Iran who use propaganda to gain support in its own revolutionary genocidal ideology in the total destruction of Israel. The United Nations answers by saying nothing but is silent in its reply.
Regional countries who do not recognise the State of Israel because they are Jews in an Arab world. They all live in the same region and have done for centuries.

Israel fights against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). UNWRA claims that the Palestinians are refuges when in fact the Palestinian refugees originated in 1948 when the State of Israel originated by a United Nations mandate.  Everyone since then is not a refugee but a Palestinian born in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. It is estimated that some 200,000 or fewer Arabs displaced in 1948 are still alive and most of the others are not refugees by any logical criterion.

The Islamic Republic of Iran encouraging countries who trade with Israel to stop doing so in order to wear down the Israeli economy and force them into a surrender. This also applies to countries, again encouraged by Iran, to stop supplying weapons and ammunition to Israel calling for an arms embargo.

You never read or hear about countries encouraging others to stop trade and supplying weapons to Iran who are the cause for the instability and wars in the Middle East. The same government that trained, supplied weapons, explosives and ammunition to carryout the attack on the 7th October 2003 against Israel in order to fulfil their revolutionary ideology and that is the total destruction of Israel.

There has been a daily return of munitions between Israel and Hezbollah since the 8th October 2023. Israel faring the better as Hezbollah have been losing more of their terrorists and command structure than Israel has been losing military personnel. Since the 8th October 2023 and as of the 28th July 2023, 527 people have been killed in Lebanon which also includes 104 civilians due to Israeli retaliatory action. Israel has lost 22 soldiers and 24 civilians from Hezbollah attacks. Again, encouraged by Iran.

Hezbollah fired a drone that killed twelve children and injured 30 others on the 27th July 2024. Hezbollah deny this and claim that debris from the Israeli air defence system the Iron Dome was responsible. Israel did not fire any retaliatory weapons at the drone that killed the Golan Heights children. Hezbollah deliberately delays reporting the times of attacks in order to escape any wrong doing should it occur. Iran and others are supporting the Hezbollah version of events. The fact that children have been killed tarnishes the Hezbollah image. Masoud Pezeshkian the new Iranian president backs the comments by Hezbollah. Hezbollah has rejected responsibility for the attack, with eyewitnesses reporting that the incident was caused by a misfired Iron Dome interceptor missile. There is no proof that this statement is correct, it’s just a false lie, propaganda and denial.

The United States and others say that Israel should not escalate by retaliation. They also say that Israel has a right to self-defence. What should Israel do? Allow Hezbollah and others to attack them and not react?

Now because twelve children were killed in a Hezbollah drone attack, Israel is being encouraged to not escalate the situation in the Middle East. What else do they have to endure before people realise that Israel is standing alone against many foes and on many fronts. What about the children that were murdered by Iranian backed terrorist groups on the 7th October 2023? Hezbollah continuing launching missiles and drones at civilian targets in the north of Israel?

The Israelis fight against a theocratic government based in Tehran who constantly threaten Israel should they retaliate against any actions their proxies have carried out against Israel that risk retaliation. Iran lacks the courage to fight but uses others. That is why it has its proxies. Plus, they know that any standing fight against the west would result in a lose situation and that would be the end of their dream, their Islamic revolution. They are empty words in effect but everyone knows that an empty vessel makes the most noise and the Islamic Republic of Iran is excruciatingly and tediously loud.

The State of Israel is fighting on many fronts. It is not as simple as one army against another, text book wars. Israel is fighting against many foes around the world not just in the Gaza Strip.  This is the reality and the perspective of the war in the Gaza Strip fought by Israel against a world of hate. They are standing alone.

​“President Raisi played a pivotal role in shaping our multilateral system and fostering international cooperation.”
(UNGA President Dennis Francis Tehran Times, 31st May 2024)
 
The “Butcher of Tehran” is Dead, Long Live the Legacy of the “Hangman of Tehran”
On the 19th May 2024 the call came out that a Bell 212 helicopter travelling with the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, and the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, were involved in an ‘incident’ where the helicopter they were travelling in was forced into a ‘hard landing’ an innocent play on a word that meant the aircraft had crashed. The wording may have been changed due to the aging aircraft and not admitting that they were fragile, old and unreliable. Nothing is defective and flawed in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Bell 212 is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968 and had been developed for the Canadian military in the late 1960s as an upgrade of the original UH-1 Iroquois. The Bell 212, said to have been operated by the Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran by local media, was likely purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. the US arms embargo against the Islamic Republic's government and the rebranded Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force soon saw most Western-made aircraft fall into disrepair. The Tehran regime, however, continued to operate a limited number of aircraft by cannibalising the existing fleet and reverse-engineering the much-needed parts.
The following day after the Tehran Times reported that the president’s helicopter had come down close to a copper mine called Sungun. It’s located in between Jolfa and Varzaqan in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and it’s roughly between 70km (43 miles) to 100km (62 miles) away from the city of Tabriz, one of the largest cities in Iran and also the city that the president of Iran and foreign minister were headed toward.
The president and his entourage had been visiting the border between Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The reason for the president of Iran and the president of Azerbaijan,  Ilham Aliyev was to officially inaugurate the Qiz-Qalasi dam, constructed jointly by Iran and the Azerbaijan Republic. It had been an important collaboration as there had been a great deal of friction between the two countries for some time. Both countries were trying to rebuild a tattered friendship. Iran, had attempted to overthrow Azerbaijan because of its friendship with the State of Israel and that Iran and Azerbaijan share a border with one another.
The Qiz-Qalasi dam is located in the Khoda Afarin region in Iran’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan. With a capacity of 62 million cubic meters, it will supply water to the irrigation and drainage networks of Khoda Afarin county. A hydroelectric power station coupled with the dam has also been designed to generate 270 MWh of electricity per annum.
The area that the aircraft had crashed was mountainous with poor weather hampering the location of the crashed aircraft. Visibility was poor so drones could not be used to locate the downed craft. Initially it was reported that up to 40 rescue teams had been deployed in order to locate the helicopter. Rain was making the going difficult due to the muddy terrain that had to be covered.
The Supreme Leader Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei declared five days of public mourning following the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in the helicopter crash in northwestern Iran. “In this bitter tragedy, the Iranian nation lost a warm-hearted, humble and valued servant,” said Ayatollah Khamenei, adding that President Raisi never stopped his hard and round-the-clock work for the people of Iran despite being faced with criticisms of ill-wishers.
Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed sadness over the death of other senior officials who were with President Raisi in the helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan, including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as well as Tabriz Friday prayer leader Mohammad Ali Al-e-Hashem and the provincial governor of East Azerbaijan province, Malek Rahmati.
The others on board who also died in the crash were identified as IRGC Brig-Gen Mohammad Mehdi Mousavi, the head of the president's security team, pilots Col Mohsen Daryanush and Col Seyyed Taher Mostafavi, and technician Maj Behrouz Qadimi.
Interim Period
According to Article 131 of the Constitution of Iran, in case of death, dismissal, resignation, absence, or illness lasting longer than two months of the president, or when his term in office has ended and a new president has not been elected due to some impediments, or similar other circumstances, his vice president shall assume, with the approval of the Leader, the powers and functions of the president.
In case of the death of the vice president, or other matters which prevent him from performing his duties, or when the president does not have a vice president, the Leader shall appoint another person in his place. Iran legally had 50 days in order to elect a new president. Presidential elections would be held on the 28th June 2024.
The Iranian constitution was amended in 1989, when important changes were instituted.
In the period that followed the deaths of the two key political offices it was announced that the vice president Mohammad Mokhber would become the interim president. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “Based on Article 131 of the Constitution, Mr. Mokhber would take over the position of the management of the executive power and he is tasked along with the heads of the judicial and legislative powers to arrange an election to elect new president maximumly within 50 days.” While Raisi held the title of president, his authority was constrained by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, within whom ultimate power is vested in the Islamic Republic.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif announced that according to the Constitution, the vice president will take over as interim president with the Leader’s approval. Tahan Nazif in an interview on the 20th May 2024 said that with the Leader’s approval, a council consisting of the Iranian judiciary chief, parliament speaker, and vice president will take measures to hold elections within 50 days.
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri was appointed on the 20th May 2024 as acting foreign minister. The appointment of Bagheri, who served as deputy foreign minister under the previous foreign minister, Amir-Abdollahian, was announced by government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi on state television.
According to the Iranian political hierarchy, the head of the state is the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and the president is considered the head of the government, the second-in-command.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said, “The Iranian nation shouldn’t be worried. There will be no disruption to the operations of the country.”
Celebrations
Social media inside the Islamic Republic is somewhat limited and controlled by the government.
Voice of America (VoA) reported, that the head of Iran’s cyber police warned against that type of social media activity, saying "we are carefully monitoring cyberspace" and advising citizens that "in the current sensitive situation" they should "refrain" from publishing content that "provokes" public sentiments.
But away from the censorship others gave their reaction.
Iran International[1] which is owned by Volant Media UK Ltd. It is licensed in the United Kingdom to Global Media Circulating Ltd as an editorial news service based in London and is managed by DMA Media Ltd circulated an article of Iranians celebrating the deaths of the prominent leaders.
The news outlet claimed that Iranians around the world were celebrating at the disappearance of Raisi and Abdollahian.
NBC News stated that although some were shocked by the news others were different. Social media inside the Islamic Republic is somewhat limited and controlled by the government.
Remarks such as:
“Goodbye to the butcher of Tehran. You will not be missed!”
“His death is karma at its finest but for a mass murderer, this swift end may seem far too easy,”
“The once untouchable tyrant meets a fate he often dealt to others,”
VoA provided videos posted to social media and shared with VOA Persian showing Iranians dancing to music in London, Copenhagen, The Hague, and Hamburg.
The Israeli government had yet to make an official statement regarding the death of top Iranian officials. However, Israeli politicians celebrated the death of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, his foreign minister and other officials that had perished in the helicopter crash. Avigdor Lieberman, former defence minister and leader of the opposition right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, told the Ynet news site that Israel “will not shed a tear for the death of the Iranian president.”
Former US Vice President Mike Pence said “the world is a safer place” without him. Pence wrote, “Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is dead and the world is a safer place. Raisi was responsible for the murder of thousands of Iranian political prisoners he ordered executed in 1988, 1,500 Iranians slaughtered in the 2019 protests and the years of terrorist violence sown by Iran across the region that claimed American lives.”
US-based Reza Pahlavi, whose father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted in the 1979 Islamic revolution and died in exile in 1980, warned the death of Raisi would not affect the policies of the Islamic republic at home or abroad.
“Today, Iranians are not in mourning. Ebrahim Raisi was a brutal mass-murderer unbefitting of condolences,” Pahlavi said in a post on his official Instagram. “Sympathy with him is an insult to his victims and the Iranian nation whose only regret is that he did not live long enough to see the fall of the Islamic republic and face trial for his crimes,” the former crown prince added which was reported in the Arab News.
Condolences and Sympathises
On the other side numerous world leaders gave their condolences to the loss of life. Regional leaders sent their sympathises including the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian resistance groups, “have honoured the memory of the martyrs President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian.”
According to the Iraqi Al-Nujaba TV, the Popular Resistance Committees issued a statement on Monday, announcing, "With deep sorrow and grief, we honour the memory of Ayatollah Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Hossein Amirabdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, and their accompanying delegation, who were martyred in the painful incident of the helicopter crash."
The committees also emphasized that Palestine and its people and resistance would never forget the services that martyrs Ayatollah Raisi and Amirabdollahian rendered for the Palestinian nation and cause.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas expressed its condolences over the martyrdom of President Raisi and his accompanying delegation to the Supreme Leader, the government, and the people of Iran.
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) convened a plenary session on the 30th May 2024 to express condolences to the Iranian government and people following the deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
The session began with a moment of silence and included remarks from UNGA President Dennis Francis, who commemorated the Iranian officials who lost their lives in a helicopter crash on the 19th May.
“President Raisi played a pivotal role in shaping our multilateral system and fostering international cooperation,” Francis noted, also praising Amir Abdollahian as “a consummate diplomat.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged that Raisi “led Iran during a challenging period for the country, the region, and the world.”
Burundi’s UN Ambassador Zéphyrin Maniratanga, representing African nations, lauded Raisi as a “dedicated leader who served his nation and promoted international cooperation, particularly with African countries.”
“Raisi was a visionary whose commitment to equity, solidarity, and multilateralism was evident throughout his leadership,” he added.
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, spoke on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), highlighting Raisi’s contributions to the OIC’s mission, including advocating for Palestinian rights.
“Through the late President’s leadership and the support of other OIC leaders, the Organization has become a stronger force for global peace, security, and prosperity,” Akram said.
The Tehran Times reported; Throughout his presidency, extending from August 3, 2021, to May 20, 2024, the martyr was keen to revitalize the Islamic nation and reduce the artificial gaps by promoting unity and rapprochement.  During his tenure, the Islamic Republic also took advanced steps in normalizing bilateral ties with its opponents and reassuring them that there was no truth to the American myth of an “alleged Iranian ambition” in West Asia.
For his part, the unprecedented diplomat, Dr Amir Hossein Abdollahian, had, since the onset of the “Battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood,” multiple tours as he moved between Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Riyadh, Doha, Muscat, Beijing, etc., stressing Iran’s position in support of the Palestinian people, and seeking to unify Arab and Islamic viewpoints.
The Blame Propaganda
Mohammad Javad Zarif, former Foreign Minister of Iran, blamed American sanctions on aviation parts for the crash of a chopper carrying President Ebrahim Raisi.
In an interview with state TV, he said the sanctions compromise Iran's access to modern aviation facilities, thus implicating the US in the Sunday chopper crash in northwestern Iran killing Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage including Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
"One of the culprits behind yesterday’s tragedy is the United States, because of its sanctions that bar Iran from procuring essential aviation parts," Zarif asserted during the interview.
But, in spite of sanctions, Iran continues to manufacture and supply its own armed forces and proxies around the region, in addition to Russia, with state-of-the-art missiles and drones. Armed groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and Iran’s own Quds Forces boast long range high-tech weaponry.
The Tehran Times issued a brief report on the helicopter crash on the 24th May 2024. The Iranian Armed Forces have issued an initial report on the helicopter crash that resulted in the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi and his accompanying delegation.
An investigative team dispatched to the crash site on Monday has gathered significant information regarding potential contributing factors, according to the report released on the 23rd May 2024.
The report reveals that the helicopter was following its designated flight path when it crashed into mountainous terrain. It caught fire upon impact, but no evidence of gunfire or other external damage was found on the wreckage.
Iranian drones located the crash site at 05:00 a.m. on Monday, and rescue teams arrived shortly thereafter. Communications between the aircraft and ground control prior to the incident showed no irregularities. The Armed Forces emphasize that the investigation is ongoing, and any further findings will be communicated to the public.
Who was Ebrahim Raisi?
Butcher of Tehran
In July 1988 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini authorised a fatwa[2] to establish a three man committee in each of the thirty-one provinces. Each team was to consist of a Sharia (Islamic law) judge, an intelligence ministry official and the provinces prosecutor general or his deputy. In the capital of the new Islamic Republic of Iran’s capital, Tehran, the prosecutor general was Morteza Eshraghi, Tehran’s prosecutor general, with Ebrahim Raisi serving as Eshraghi’s deputy which enabled him to become a de facto member of that committee. The group were informally dubbed the Tehran “Death Committee.”
The death committee oversaw mass executions in 1988. It was believed that the government of Tehran murdered a minimum of 5,000 ‘political’ prisoners during that period  under the direction of the four man Death Committee. Over a period of approximately two months the Death Committee were responsible for hanging a minimum of 100 people a day. A great deal of those who were killed were mostly in their twenties, a few others were young teenagers or in their thirties.
In July 1988 interrogations[3] took place with certain questions asked such as, if they would publicly plead “guilty” of treason, denounce the actions their colleagues, spy for the Iranian regime, participate in regime firing squads, or run through minefields at the Iran-Iraq war front. If a prisoner said no to any of these questions, he or she would be condemned to death. Those condemned were either killed by firing squad or hanged. The mass executions came to end in September 1988.
On the 1st May 2018 Raisi broke his silence on the massacres. Raisi publicly defended the mass killings, albeit in coded language, in a lecture which was documented by Amnesty International. He did not dispute his presence at a meeting on the issue but noted that “during the period [in question], I was not the head of the court… The head of the court issues sentences whereas the prosecutor represents the people.” At the same time, using the word “confrontation” in apparent reference to the mass killings, he regarded them as “one of the proud achievements of the system” and praised Ruhollah Khomeini as a “national hero,” thereby pushing the onus of the responsibility for the killings towards the dead leader.
Ebrahim Raisi earned his nicknames’ ‘the Hanging Judge’, ‘the Hangman of Tehran’ and the ‘the Butcher of Tehran’ from this period.
He served as Tehran’s prosecutor-general from 1989 to 1994, deputy chief of the Judicial Authority for a decade from 2004, and then national prosecutor-general in 2014.
During the period of 27th July 2004 to the 23rd August 2014 Raisi was the 2nd Deputy Chief of Justice of Iran. The office is responsible for the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The 2021 Presidential Elections
There’s no political spin like dictatorship political spin. On the 18th June 2021 Iran went to the poles to elect a new president. Iranians were encouraged to turn out and vote; Commander of the Iranian Army Major General Mousavi stated that a high turnout would reduce foreign threats, but no specifics were given. And on the 17th June 2021 the outgoing president, Khamenei stated that the elections were ‘democratic’! On the 18th June 2021 the 13th presidential election was held and the winner was Ebrahim Raisi who was tipped to win even before the first vote was cast. There was no competition. The Iranian unelected Guardian Council ensured that. Figures released after the winner was announced stated that 28.6 million ballots had been counted of which 17.8 million votes were for Raisi. Eligible voters in Iran were 59, 310,000. The state-linked Iranian Student Polling Agency estimated that the turnout would be above 40% which would be the lowest since the 1979 Revolution. Many stayed at home wondering what was the point in voting. But, with all these figures the outgoing Iranian president rescued credibility by stating that there was an ‘epic participation’ disappointing their enemies. The election only matters to the masters of Iran not the people.
Raisi was inaugurated to the 8th president of the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 3rd August 2021.
Demonstrating under the Raisi Presidency
The death of Mahsa Amini on the 16th September 2022 by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ‘morality police’ over the wearing of a headscarf (hijab) caused a possible upset that could have been even greater than the fuel protests of 2019-2020 (bloody November) and the Green Movement of 2009. “The death of the young girl also broke our heart,” said the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on the 3rd October 2022 at a graduation ceremony of cadet officers. So much so that the enquiry by his officials cleared those responsible of any wrong doing.
The theocratic Revolutionary Forces of Iran’s anti-riot police shot defenceless demonstrators with live rounds or metal pellets. The Iranian regime continuously lied to the Iranian people as to who was rightfully to blame for the death of Amini and attribute the culpability to the Kurds, the Israelis, the Americans and others who decided to stand up to the Islamic Republic regime.
Those responsible for hiding the truth had killed innocent civilians including women and children in Iraq and Iran’s autonomous region of Kurdistan. Many countries who are free due to their constitution and who are able to demonstrate in a free manner without the threat of being shot or disfigured showed their support against the murder of the Kurdish girl Mahsa Amini by demonstrating outside Iranian embassies around the world. Those demonstrations stood against the tyranny that led the Islamic Republic of Iran and those who govern.
The world had shown the leadership of Iran that they stood with the murdered girl and not the theocratic government of the Islamic Republic nor the Raisi presidency. Females from around the globe showed their support against a country of those who desired to dominate and control one half of the human race, the female population. The Iranian government had shown no remorse for Amini but had the greatest respect for the police who shown no mercy when it came to unarmed and vulnerable demonstrators who strongly wanted a change in the law and if nothing else then to respect females and their human rights.
Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i an Iranian conservative politician, Islamic jurist and prosecutor who currently serves as Chief Justice of Iran Iran’s Forensic Medicine claimed “today, it is obvious to everyone that the death of a girl was completely an excuse.”
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian the Foreign Minister who died in the helicopter crash said, "who believes that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners?"
The callous use of words and phrases give an indication of the regime under Raisi. The quote from Ejei when he stated, “the death of a girl was completely an excuse.” He cannot even say her name. Then Abdollahian when he said, “who believes that the death of a girl is so important to Westerners?" Neither show any remorse about Amini.
Riot police when attempting to stop the demonstrations used not just live rounds but also pellet cartridges in shotguns. These weapons were pointed at teenagers and fired at point blank ranges. The aiming points were the eyes and the genitals in order to disfigure the youngsters and in the case of females an attempt to stop them having children.
The Norway-based non-profit organisation Iran Human Rights reported that 537 protesters were killed by state security forces, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates more than 19,400 individuals were arrested.
The United Nations on the 18th March 2024 reported, that there are “credible figures” that indicate there were 551 deaths, at least 49 women and 68 children, “and we found that those occurred in 26 out of the 31 provinces of Iran over multiple months”, the Mission found.
Ms. Hossain explained that many protesters “removed their hijab in public places as an act of defiance against long-standing discriminatory laws and practices”.
Men and boys joined in the protests in solidarity too, the Council heard, along with minorities who demanded equality.
” What we found was that security forces shot at protesters and also at bystanders at very short distances in a targeted fashion, causing injuries to their heads, necks, torsos, genital areas, but particularly to the eyes,” reported Ms. Hossain. “We found hundreds of protesters had these life changing injuries, with many of them now blinded and branded essentially for life marked as dissidents.”
It appeared that the ideology of Ebrahim Raisi had carried on from 1988, “Revolution Before the People.”
The Iranian Population
Raisi was elected on numerous promises one of which was to bring down the high rate of inflation. This was affecting the purchase of staple dietary products which the average Iranian was finding it difficult to place any form of decent food on the table due to the rise in prices.
The population of Iran had had enough of the lies and corruption led by the previous presidency and were hoping of a better future which never happened.
The people had had enough of having 60% inflation which reflected on the price of food that they have to pay in order to put nourishment on the table which Raisi promised to tackle and never did. Lawyers who had been promised a wage increase by Raisi which had not been delivered by the very man who was once head of their profession. The farmers had had enough of having no water to grow crops because of corruption and the mismanagement of the precious liquid. Pensioners had had enough of being promised a rise in their pension and the government not delivering, Raisi. The teachers who educated or indoctrinated the next generation with deceptions from text books written by those responsible for propaganda that had been approved by the Raisi government. The population of Iran had had enough when they saw the privileged going to Turkey and buying products that the ordinary people could not dream of purchasing especially when the cost of bread and other basic commodities were so high. They had had enough of the lies that the state-controlled media and press broadcasted by hiding the truth.
A great deal of the unrest was placed upon the United States, The State of Israel and the United Kingdom who were accused of plotting to overthrow the government and were using Masha Amini and their reason for high inflation as a means of fermenting the discontent.
 
1st March 2024 Iranian Elections
On the 1st March 24 the Iranians had the chance of voting on two important bodies. The Parliamentary elections and the Assembly of Experts. Voting was to be run concurrently on the same day. The last time the Iranians went to the ballot box it was for a new president in 2021. However, like everything in a corrupt system the presidential vote was no different. Most of the candidates were thrown out with only a few others allowed to stand.
It was explained that whoever won the post would be the prime candidate for the position of Supreme Leader once the current leader died. The Supreme Leader is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran (above the president). At the moment the current Supreme Leader is Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei (born 15th July 1939) an Iranian Twelver Shia marja' and politician who has been the second Supreme Leader of Iran since 1979. He previously served as third president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was elected to Supreme Leader 1989 being only the second to hold the position since the Iranian revolution in 1979.
The turnout for the 2024 elections were marginally lower than the 2021 elections. People do not see the reason for voting as everything for them remains the same with no change no matter who is in power.
Iran President Ebrahim Raisi, had been tipped to succeed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who in April 2024 was 85 years old. Raisi would then become the third Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Guardian Council
The Guardian Council (also known as the Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council) is a 12-member council with significant power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Guardian Council can veto legislation passed by the parliament (Majlis) to ensure bills align with Islamic laws and the Iranian Constitution. The council oversees elections, including approving or disqualifying candidates running for local, parliamentary, presidential, or Assembly of Experts positions.
The council consists of six Islamic faqihs (experts in Islamic Law) appointed by the Supreme Leader, and six jurists elected by the Majlis from among Muslim jurists nominated by the Chief Justice. Its influence extends to controlling the interpretation of Islamic values in Iranian law, vetting candidates, and shaping legislation
The Guardian Council plays a crucial role in selecting Iran’s president.
Election Monitoring Agency (EMA): Managed by the Guardian Council, this institution vets registered candidates and selects a handful to run in the presidential election.
Candidates must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a twelve-member body consisting of six clerics (selected by Iran’s Supreme Leader) and six lawyers (proposed by the Supreme Leader-appointed head of Iran’s judicial system and voted in by the Parliament).
Those approved by the Guardian Council are put to a public vote. The winner is the candidate who receives a majority (50% plus one) of votes. If no candidate receives enough votes, another election is held between the two candidates with the most votes the following Friday.
The President of Iran is elected every four years by direct, popular vote, but the Supreme Leader holds much more power in Iran’s political system
Iran Presidential Election Registration
Tasnim News on the 30th May 2024 announced that he registration process for the 14th round of Iran’s presidential elections got underway at the Interior Ministry headquarters in the capital Tehran. Registering the candidates started at 0800 hrs at the order of Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi.
Eligible applicants had the chance of submitting the required documents within a deadline of five days. The names of the hopefuls would then be handed over to the Constitutional Council, the 12-member body that oversees elections and legislation. The body would vet and pronounce a final ruling on the competency of the hopefuls according to constitutional requirements.
The Iranian population will be given the opportunity to go to the polls and elect a new president in a nationwide election to be held on the 28th June 2024.
The five-day registration period, began on the 30th May 2024, ended on the 3rd June 2024 with the final list of candidates to be published on 11th June 2024.
The results as to who would be eligible for the presidential office were to be announced on the 5th June 2024. The presidential candidates would be whittled down from this group so that the population will have little choice as to who they should choose after the 11th June announcement.
The possibility of yet another low turnout to vote is more than likely. Iranians cannot vote for who would be best placed as president for the good of the people and who would make a better life for them. This president may be elected to continue Ruhollah Khomenei’s Islamic Republic without opposition but that is not a forgone conclusion in this case. For those who support the corrupt dictatorship they will vote, for those who hate living under repression they will not see the point. After all, one dictator is the same as another.
The announcement of 15 candidates from the selection process was announced in the Tehran Times on the 5th June 2024. A number of them have some form of blemish’s including embezzlement and corruption charges or have attempted to become president in the past but were rejected by the Guardian Council. Some are believed to lack experience in operational fields
Presidential campaigns according to the Tehran Times, will begin on 12th June and will run until 27th June 2024, providing ample time for candidates to present their platforms to the electorate. This election represents a critical juncture for Iran, offering an opportunity to redefine its domestic and international policies and address complex challenges, such as economic sanctions and regional tensions.
Presidential elections will be held on the 28th June 2024.
 
Paul Ashley
 
 
Additional Information
[1]        Iran International
Iran International is a Persian-language news television channel headquartered in London aimed at Iranian viewers, and broadcasting free-to-air by satellite. Iran International was established in May 2017 and has broadcast its programmes from both London and Washington, D.C. In February 2023, Iran International moved its headquarters temporarily to Washington, D.C. due to increased threats from the Iranian government against their UK-based journalists, but back to London in September 2023. It is available online, via radio and via satellite broadcasting worldwide including Iran. The channel has been charged of being an arm of Saudi Arabia and has received media attention for its reporting on Iranian human rights violations, political developments, LGBTQ+ rights and other topics sensitive to the regime in Iran.
The Penguin Dictionary of Islam (Azim Nanji with Razia Nanji) 2008, pages 51,52
[2]        ‘Fatwa’            Legal opinion rendered by a Muslim scholar regarded to having appropriate status and training. Such opinion may be sought from scholars who are known as MUFTI in the Sunni tradition and as mujtahid among the Shia, but are not necessarily binding.
While the idea originated in the need to provide religiously credible and well-established responses to questions of practice of the faith and daily behaviour, the concept developed throughout Muslim history into a more formal, legal notion. The mufti acted in a consultative capacity in Muslim courts as well as interpreting Islamic law as an appointed official of the state. The practice of issuing a fatwa has continued in modern times as a mechanism for dealing with personal, social, legal and religious issues. Page 7
[3]        Deadly Fatwa: Iran’s 1988 Prison Massacre
This report documents and analyses the Iranian government’s massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Pursuant to a fatwa issued by then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, the government systematically interrogated, tortured and summarily executed thousands of political prisoners. Many families were never informed about the executions and many of the victims were buried in unmarked mass graves. The Iranian government has never identified those who were secretly executed and tortured, and has never issued an explanation for this crime.
 

​Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi issued a message about the successful operation of the IRGC against the Zionist regime's positions, saying that the zealous IRGC forces taught a lesson to the Zionist enemy. 
(MEHR News Agency 14th April 2024)
 
Iran retaliates for the 1st April 2024 Attack by Israel on IRGC Members in Damascus
Introduction
On the 1st April 2024 a strike against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The most influential IRGC military commander to die in the strike was General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Quds Force. Zahedi was most recently believed to be serving as chief of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon — a role that would have made him a top coordinator between Tehran and Hezbollah.
Zahedi was the third senior IRGC leader killed since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. His death is the most significant loss suffered by the Quds Force since the assassination of Soleimani four years ago and, before that, the death of Hossein Hamedani in October 2015. Described in a United States Treasury statement on the 3rd August 2010, as “the commander of the IRGC-QF in Lebanon,” Zahedi was accused of playing “a key role in Iran’s support to Hezbollah.” He “also acted as a liaison to Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence services and is reportedly charged with guaranteeing weapons shipments to Hezbollah.”
General Mohammad Reza Zahedi was a member of Hezbollah’s Shura Council, the powerful Lebanese group’s decision-making body, a source close to the movement said. Zahedi was the only non-Lebanese on Hezbollah’s eight-member Shura Council, the equivalent of the powerful Shia Muslim movement’s political bureau, led by secretary general Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah in a previous speech, said his group “owed a lot” to the senior Iranian official. He continued, “lived with us for long years, away from the spotlight, and provided important services to the resistance (Iranian-backed proxy) in Lebanon and the whole region.”
Iran vowed revenge
Security and Intelligence experts believed that Iran would have two option to retaliate at the death of its latest military commander and others that were killed in the strike. One would be to have their proxy’s carryout a retaliatory attack and the other was a direct attack emanating from the Islamic Republic itself. Many believed that Iran would not strike directly as they did not want add coal to the fire as tensions were already high due to the war that Iranian-backed Hamas had started on the 7th October 2023 when Hamas brutally and savagely invaded Israel.
Iran had also blamed the United Nations Security Council for its failure to condemn the Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus on the 1st April 2024. The United States, Britain and France opposed the Iranian ally Russia that would have condemned the Israeli attack. Diplomats said the US, backed by France and Britain, informed council colleagues that many of the facts of what happened on the 1st April in Damascus remained unclear and there was no consensus among council members during the meeting on the 4th April 2024. The US said it had not confirmed the status of the building struck in Damascus, but that it would be concerned if it was a diplomatic facility.
Israel claimed that it was ‘bracing’ itself for any retaliatory attack with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the country would harm “whoever harms us or plans to harm us.” “For years, Iran has been acting against us both directly and via its proxies; therefore, Israel is acting against Iran and its proxies, defensively and offensively,” Netanyahu said at the start of a security cabinet meeting late on the 4th April 2024. “We will know how to defend ourselves and we will act according to the simple principle of whoever harms us or plans to harm us, we will harm them,” he said.
The Islamic Republic of Iran simply does not share the country’s wealth with the people. The regime invests all the money in developing its power, in weapons, in violence, because that’s the only way it can survive and realize its fanatical ideology. The regime is working to break up the west from within. They use democracy to fight democracies. They radicalize the youth in the United States and Europe, finance media and propaganda, and support universities, in cooperation with Qatar, and with the support of Russia and China. Just a few days ago, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in his meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that their propaganda war is succeeding, and subsequently released a tweet, declaring: “War also takes place within the media, whoever has the strongest media in their hands will succeed in achieving the goals they seek.”
Israel for years had retaliated against Iranian-backed terrorist groups who had carried out terrorist actions against Israel on behalf o Iran. Israel had said that, that was not going to happen anymore. The Israeli government was going after those who were responsible for the attacks on Israel and its people. They would retaliate directly on those who sent the terrorists. Those in the Tehran government and those in the Iranian military.
Iran was feeling rather smug about itself. Israel had attacked one of their most senior military members and Iran stated that it would strike back. Iran was in the driving seat to pick its time, location and targets. “A wave of fear and anxiety has engulfed the Israeli regime and community about the high probability that Iran will hit Israeli targets in revenge for the martyrdom of IRGC advisers in the Zionist army’s airstrike on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus.” Was quoted in the government controlled news outlet Tasnim. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic will make the Zionist regime regret this crime.
The Iranians even attempted blackmail with a carrot and stick approach. Iran informed the United States that it would refrain from responding to the airstrike in which senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders were killed in Damascus if a ceasefire in Gaza is reached. The report came as negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal resume between Israel and Hamas in Cairo and as Israel continued preparations for a possible response to the Damascus airstrike that Syria and Iran blamed on Israel.
The United States Biden administration promised “ironclad” support for Israel as Iran threatened reprisals over a strike that levelled an Iranian consulate building in Damascus and killed two generals. Iran may have played on the relationship between the Israeli Prime Minister and the President of the United States who had been at odds lately in regards to how Israel had been conducting the war against Hamas.
President Joe Biden told a news conference. “As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.” He then said. “Let me say it again — ironclad. We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security.”
Iran made a statement to the United States that said; "The Iranian message was - we will attack the forces that attack us. Don't mess with us and we won't mess with you."
With countries and leaders waiting to see how and what Iran would do to react, Israeli officials warned Iran on the 10th April 2024 that the Islamic Republic would receive retaliatory strikes should it mount a direct attack against Israel. Mark Dubowitz, CEO of the Foundation for Defence and Democracies (FDD) wrote: “Iran has long made clear that it’s happy to fight Israel to the last Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi, or Yemeni. It is far less keen on direct confrontation. It should consider carefully whether revenge is worth the escalation promised on its own soil.”
The Islamic Republic of Iran did consider its actions and retaliated against the State of Israel on the evening of the 13th April 2024.
The Theocratic Government of Tehran Strikes Back
On the 13th April 2024 Israel closed schools and placed its armed forces on full alert due to the threat of an Iranian attack on Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel is “closely monitoring a planned attack” against it by Iran and Tehran’s allies in the region.
Russia had told its citizens not to travel to the Middle East. The German airline Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines said on the 11th April 2024 that they were suspending flights to and from Tehran until the 13th April but would probably extend until the 18th April. Australia Quantas redirected its Perth-London flights to avoid Iran airspace. Germany urges citizens to leave Iran, saying there is a risk of sudden escalation. India advised against travel to Iran, Israel. France urged a no travel to Iran message including Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories. US restricted its staff in Israel from travelling outside cities amid the Iranian threat. A top US general visited Israel amid Iran retaliation fears: Pentagon. UK prepares evacuation as tensions rise in Middle East. The Dutch embassy was to close for several days. The United States Navy repositioned its warships in expectation of Iranian attack.
The threat of a strike by Iran had been taken seriously.
Sirens began sounding in southern Israeli communities around 0142 hrs and soon after extended to large swaths of the country. Iran had launched an armada of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) and cruise missiles at Israel in retaliation for their attack on their consulate in Damascus.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Spouts its Propaganda on “Operation Truthful Promise”
The Islamic Republic of Iran called the retaliatory strike against Israel “Operation Truthful Promise” also called “Operation Honest Promise” depending on the open-source outlet.
An Iranian cyber group named Handala claimed to have breached Israel's radar systems and sent hundreds of thousands of threatening text messages to Israeli citizens. The group alleged it infiltrated the radar systems and dispatched 500,000 text messages to Israeli citizens. "You have only a few hours to fix the systems," the message warned. The announcement, shared via Telegram, was scant on details but emphasized its significant success, potentially undermining Israel's national security. "You have only a few hours to repair the radar systems," the attackers reiterated in their message. The group also declared that a cyber-attack had also plunged vast areas of the occupied territories, including Tel Aviv, into darkness.
The Iranian government controlled news outlet the Tehran Times on the 14th April 2024 reported  "In response to various crimes of the Zionist regime, including the attack on the Iranian consulate section in Damascus and the martyrdom of some of our country's military commanders and advisors in Syria, the IRGC's Air Force targeted specific objectives inside the occupied territories by hitting them with dozens of missiles and drones," a news anchor said, reading a statement by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC).
Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani issued a stern warning to nations aligning with Israel, cautioning that any countries abetting Israel in a possible attack on Iran would receive a decisive response from the Islamic Republic. “Whatever country that opens its soil or airspace to Israel for a [potential] attack on Iran, will receive our decisive response.”
The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) released further information following a series of missile and drone strikes on Israeli installations within the occupied territories. The attacks which began Saturday night in response to the regime's striking of Iran's embassy in Damascus on April 1, has targeted multiple military sites across the occupied Palestinian lands. Reports show that so far 50% of the fired missiles have hit their designated targets. In its formal communication, the IRGC clarified the necessity for these offensive manoeuvres due to the United Nations' reluctance to admonish Israel for its brazen attack on Iran’s diplomatic premises as well as the regime's previous aggressions.
Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi issued a message about the successful operation of the IRGC against the Zionist regime's positions, saying that the zealous IRGC forces taught a lesson to the Zionist enemy. Iranian President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi issued a message about the successful operation of the IRGC air forces against the Zionist regime's positions in occupied lands on early Sunday (14 Apr 24). "I emphasize that any new adventure against the interests of the Iranian nation will be met with a heavier and regrettable response," President Raisi said in this message. “Last night, the zealous and courageous forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with the cooperation and coordination of all the defence and political sectors of the country, set a new page in the history of Iran's authority and taught a lesson to the Zionist enemy.”
Iranian government-controlled MEHR News Agency reported that informed sources reported that at least 15 Iranian missiles hit the strategic air base of the Zionist regime in the Al-Neqeb. Al-Manar citing informed sources announced that Iran has targeted Nevatim Air Base in the south of occupied Palestine [Israel] with 15 missiles early on Sunday [14 Apr 24]. Sources reported that following this attack, this base was damaged severely and became completely out of function. Nevatim air base is located in the south of the occupied territories in the Negev desert region and near the city of Be'er Sheva which is the main base of the F-35 fighters of the Zionist regime. The IRGC Air Force had practiced a missile attack on a simulated example of this Zionist air base last year. This base is about 1100 km away from the western borders of Iran.
Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the operation carried out by the force against the Israeli regime was more successful than expected. Major General Hossein Salami said on Sunday that the IRGC had received reports showing that part of the weapons fired by the force toward the Israeli-occupied territories had directly hit their targets.  “Our information on all of the hits is not complete yet but on that part of the hits that we have accurate, documented and field-related reports show that this operation has been carried out with a success that exceeded the expectation,” said Salami. He said that the IRGC was capable of carrying out a large operation against Israel but it opted for a more restricted and limited one to hit Israeli resources that had been used for an airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month which killed senior Iranian military commanders.
The order and sequence of this operation were carried out in a way that cannot be said now, as dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles were able to break through the deep layers of the seemingly reassuring air defence of the Zionists and the coalition between the United States and France and to influence the Zionist regime, Salami said.
Hezbollah terror group claimed to have fired dozens of rockets from Lebanon at an Israeli army base in the Golan Heights. Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have launched multiple drones at Israel in coordination with Iran, adding that the projectiles were likely timed to reach Israel simultaneously. “Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) were reportedly launched by the Houthis toward Israel. The UAVs were launched in coordination with Iran,” the group said. “Israeli ports are assessed to be potential targets,” it added, and warned of “collateral damage” to shipping. According to Israeli Rear Admiral. Daniel Hagari, drones launched from Yemen and Iraq amid the Iranian attack had failed to reach Israel.
Iranians celebrated.  Iranian demonstrators chanted slogans during an anti-Israeli gathering in front of the British Embassy in Tehran early on the 14th April 2024 as Iran launched its attack. Thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Iran early Sunday in a show of support for the unprecedented drone and missile attack against archfoe Israel. “Death to Israel” and “Death to America” chanted pro-government demonstrators in Tehran’s Palestine Square shortly after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the launch of Operation Honest Promise.
The Tehran Times claimed that despite Israel's egregious claim at having intercepted "99%" of the projectiles, footage captured by Israeli settlers in the vicinity of the targets showed Iran's missiles had landed exactly where they were meant to descend. The missiles and drones were fired from regions all across Iran. They passed by populated cities in Iraq, Syria, Jordan and occupied Palestine before hitting two Israeli military targets, one of them being a large intelligence base, Nevatim Airbase, from where an F-35 jet took off to target Iran’s consulate in Damascus. The Iranian government led propaganda outlet also claimed that no civilian sites were damaged in the process. It was called a ‘clean victory.’
Iran Threatens More Retaliatory Strikes if Attacked
Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri warned that Iran's response to any aggression will be much heavier. This operation has achieved its goals and there is no intention to continue it, Bagheri said, adding, "But if the Zionist regime takes action against Iran's soil or in Iran's centres in Syria or another country, our next operation will be bigger."
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says if the Zionist regime or its allies make another mistake, Iran's designed response will be more severe.
Iran also threatened the Americans by warning should they become involved in any retaliatory attacks then their personnel and bases would be targeted.
Reality of Irans “Operation Truthful Promise”
IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral. Daniel Hagari first confirmed at 2300 hrs (local) that the attack, anticipated for several days, had begun. He later said Iran also fired missiles at Israel, while “numerous” fighter jets were in the sky countering Tehran’s attacks. Iran had launched more than 300 projectiles at Israel, comprising 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles, and that 99% of them had been intercepted by air defences. All 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were downed outside of the country’s borders by the Israeli Air Force and its allies, he said. Not one drone or cruise missile managed to enter Israeli airspace.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said that the long-range Arrow air defence system managed to knock down the “vast majority” of the 120 ballistic missiles, although some penetrated Israel’s defences and struck the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel. At Nevatim, “slight damage” was caused to the infrastructure, but the airbase was running as usual, Hagari said. “As you can see now, the base is functioning and continues to perform its tasks. In the picture, you can see the runway at Nevatim,” he said, showing live footage from the airbase during his press statement Sunday morning [14 Apr 24].
“Iran thought it would be able to paralyze the base and thus damage our air capabilities, but it failed. Air Force planes continue to take off and land from the base, and leave for offense and defence missions, including the Adir (F-35) planes that are now returning from a base defence mission and soon you will see them landing,”
This was contrary to what was reported in the MEHR News Agency who reported that 15 Iranian missiles had damaged the airbase severely.
Three US officials said the American military shot down Iranian drones headed toward Israel, without disclosing how many were shot down or the precise locations. Security said that US forces operating from undisclosed bases in the region shot down a number of Iranian drones in Sweida and Deraa provinces in southern Syria near the Jordanian border.
Royal Jordanian jets downed dozens of Iranian drones flying across northern and central Jordan heading to Israel, two regional security sources said in a dramatic show of support from Amman, which has heavily criticized Israel’s prosecution of its war against Hamas in Gaza. An Iranian military source suggested that Jordan may face severe repercussions and become the next target if it aligns with the Zionist regime.
Shortly after midnight, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top defence leaders convened at military headquarters in Tel Aviv for a security assessment. A “senior Israeli official” was later quoted by Channel 12 news pledging an “unprecedented response” to Iran’s attack and urging Israelis not to go to bed due to what was coming Tehran’s way.
Israel’s Channel 12 news said the US was the first to identify the launch and immediately notified Israel, leading to a flurry of activity in Israel and its surroundings that led to widespread public assessment that an attack was imminent. State-linked media in Iran reported that a second wave of drones had been launched at Israel.
Two security sources in Iraq said dozens of drones had been spotted flying from Iran toward Israel over Iraqi airspace in what Iranian Press TV called “extensive drone strikes” by the Revolutionary Guards.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service said its medics were treating a young girl in southern Israel who was wounded by shrapnel following the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile over the area. The 7-year-old Israeli-Muslim girl, from a Bedouin town near Arad, was taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where she was listed in serious condition. There were no other reports of injuries as a result of the Iranian attack.
The Iranian Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi says the warriors of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) taught the Zionist regime "an unforgettable lesson" with their drone and missile operation. “Last night, your zealous and courageous children in the IRGC, with the cooperation and coordination of all the defence and political sectors of the country, turned a new page in the history of Iran’s authority and taught a lesson to the Zionist enemy.”
In reality those warriors of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps launched unmanned drones and missiles at Israel and failed to reach one target.
Retaliation
After over three hours of deliberations on the 14th April 2024 afternoon, Israel’s five-person war cabinet did not reach a decision as to how the country would respond to Iran’s massive missile and drone barrage on the night of the 13th April 2024. The Israel Hayom daily newspaper cited, however, an Israeli official as stating that “there will be a response.” An official source in the Prime Minister’s Office said that while a decision has yet to be made, “the IDF will need to present options” and that “it is clear that Israel will respond.”
The United States has clearly stated that although they will stand by Israel in defence, they will not be involved in an attack directly against Iran. The British urged the Israeli’s to ‘take the win’ and ‘leave it.’
After Action Report
According to the Institute for National Security Studies, the Islamic Republic of Iran fired 30 cruise missiles, none penetrated; 120 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel with 10 penetrating Israeli territory; 170 drones were fired, none penetrated; a few missiles caused slight damage to infrastructure and 85 tons of explosives were directed towards Israel. Ninety-nine percent of those launched at Israel failed to reach any target and were intercepted with 70 drones and 3 ballistic missiles downed by the United States. Number of other targets destroyed by the Royal Jordanian Air Force and the Royal Air Force no figures given
Damaged caused was minimal and the only military base to be targeted and struck was Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel which received minimal damage and continued operations.
The only real casualties were a small 7-year-old girl. She remains in a life-threatening condition after she was taken to Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba. Debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell directly on her home in a Bedouin town near Arad in the southern Negev region at approximately 0200 hrs. The Times of Israel reported that eight other people had been brought in with minor injuries, some of whom, like the girl, had been hit by shrapnel.
Conclusion
What is clear about the Iranian operation against the State of Israel is that the United States, Israel, Britain and Jordon’s air defences achieved a spectacular defeat against the Islamic Republic. For Israel and its allies to down a swarm of missiles and drones with very minor damage and one casualty is a huge success for them. Although what must not be forgotten is that Iran was able to launch such a multitude of aerial weapons at a target over a distance of 985.31 miles (1,585.70 km). The route would have been through Iraqi and Syrian airspace, therefore not causing international problems with other Arab states. Southern Iraq and Syria are both in the pocket of Iran. Iran will become more confident that it can unleash a multitude of drones and missiles at a target and not only get away with it at the United Nations Security Council but retaliation may or may not be forthcoming, especially after the threats of more and at a greater severity if they are attacked. The only real win for Iran who claimed all of its munitions hit their target was those responsible for Iranian propaganda. Not in any of the main propaganda outlets was there any hint of the failure to hit any target or cause major damage in response to the Israeli strike in Damascus. It is without a doubt that the victory goes to Israel and those who support them. Israel killed seven IRGC officers in a single strike on the 1st April 2024. Iran failed to strike anything with approximately 300 drones, missiles and cruise missiles on the 13th April 2024. This maybe a course of “To Be Continued.”
 
Paul Ashley
 
 
 
 

President Ebrahim Raisi has said that the terrorist and criminal attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria is a sign of Israel's profound desperation and helplessness.
(Nour News 3rd April 2024)
 
IRGC Members Assassinated in Syria
​
On the 1st April 2024 a strike against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria killed seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The most influential IRGC military commander to die in the strike was General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Quds Force. Zahedi was most recently believed to be serving as chief of the IRGC’s elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon — a role that would have made him a top coordinator between Tehran and Hezbollah.

Mohammad Reza Zahedi was a contemporary and close friend of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the 62-year-old commander of the Quds Force, who was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq, on the 3rd January 2020. It was Soleimani who appointed Zahedi commander of the Quds Force Lebanon Corps in 1998, a position he held until 2002, and to which he was reappointed in 2008. He was responsible for organizing support for the regime of President Bashar Assad during the Syrian civil war, and overseeing shipments of Iranian weapons to Hezbollah via Syria.

Zahedi was the third senior IRGC leader killed since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. His death is the most significant loss suffered by the Quds Force since the assassination of Soleimani four years ago and, before that, the death of Hossein Hamedani in October 2015. Described in a United States Treasury statement on the 3rd August 2010, as “the commander of the IRGC-QF in Lebanon,” Zahedi was accused of playing “a key role in Iran’s support to Hezbollah.” He “also acted as a liaison to Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence services and is reportedly charged with guaranteeing weapons shipments to Hezbollah.”

Yahya Rahim Safavi, former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Khamenei's chief military adviser, disclosed that Mohammadreza Zahedi was among four key figures he introduced to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The others mentioned by Safavi were prominent figures Qasem Soleimani, Ahmad Kazemi, and Mohammad Hajazi, all of whom have now died, two of them assassinated.

General Mohammad Reza Zahedi as a member of Hezbollah’s Shura Council, the powerful Lebanese group’s decision-making body, a source close to the movement said. Zahedi was the only non-Lebanese on Hezbollah’s eight-member Shura Council, the equivalent of the powerful Shia Muslim movement’s political bureau, led by secretary general Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah in a previous speech, said his group “owed a lot” to the senior Iranian official. He continued, “lived with us for long years, away from the spotlight, and provided important services to the resistance (Iranian-backed proxy) in Lebanon and the whole region.”

The Hezbollah Shura Council is a critical decision-making body within the Hezbollah organization. The Deciding Shura Council serves as Hezbollah’s Supreme Council. It is headed by the organization’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. This council holds supreme authority and plays a central role in shaping Hezbollah’s policies and actions.

The Shura Council is responsible for all Hezbollah activities. It oversees both military and civilian aspects. Under its purview, there are five designated councils, each handling specific functions within the organization.

The Supreme Leader of Iran has a significant influence on the Shura Council. In case of a deadlock, the Supreme Leader casts the deciding vote. In summary, the Hezbollah Shura Council is the nucleus of decision-making, guiding Hezbollah’s actions, strategies, and overall direction.

A report in the Arab News stated; “It remains to be established beyond doubt whether or not Iran or its Quds Force was involved in the 7th October 2023 attacks on Israel led by Hamas last year. IRGC officials “may have directly authorized Hamas’s assault and assisted in planning it, though Hamas and the IRGC have insisted that the Palestinian group acted independently,” the Council on Foreign Relations said.

General Hossein Aminallah, Chief of Staff of the IRGC Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, and Brigadier General Haj Rahimi, a close friend and deputy of Zahedi, were also assassinated.

Five other Iranian advisers and officers were also neutralised, they were: Hossein Amanollahi, Mahdi Jalalati, Mohsen Sedaqat, Ali Aqababaee, and Ali Salehi Ruzbehani

Holly Dagres is a non-resident senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank, the Atlantic Council. She is also the editor of the Council’s Iran Source and MENA Source blogs and curator for the weekly newsletter, The Iranist.  On her weekly newsletter, she described the attack as; “According to the Iranian ambassador to Syria, Hossein Akbari, the building was hit by six missiles launched by F-35 jets. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack but has launched hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years.

She continues; What’s the deal with the building regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s consulate in Damascus? The building is next door to the Iranian embassy and has been described as a “consulate” on the embassy grounds in Damascus. The Iranian ambassador said that the strikes “targeted my place of residence and the consular section of the embassy, along with Iran’s military attaches.”

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, claimed that the target was “a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.” However, Syrian media reported that the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria didn’t own the four-story building and that only the basement and two of the four stories were owned or rented by Tehran. The other two stories were said to be owned by Syrian families; one of the families reportedly lost two family members. Human shields.

Did Israel violate international law? According to a report by the New York Times:

“Diplomatic buildings are entitled to broad protections from attack or other interference by the host country under international customary law, codified in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Convention on Consular Relations… Those protections remain in force even if the embassy is used for criminal or military purposes… But while those rules of diplomatic relations are a bedrock principle of international law, they actually have little force in the case of the Damascus bombing, experts say, because they only refer to the responsibilities of the ‘receiving State’—in this case, Syria—and say nothing about attacks by a third state on foreign territory… An embassy can lose those protections, however, if it is used for a military purpose, as is true of schools, homes, and other civilian buildings during wartime.”

Nevertheless, on the 2nd April 2024 the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike and reaffirmed “the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises,” adding that all diplomatic personnel “must be respected in all cases in accordance with international law.” The UN have still yet to condemn Hamas, who they see as a political party and not a terrorist group, for their brutal and savage attack on Israel on the 7th October 2024, six months ago.

The Islamic Republics Response was to be Expected Through Their Own Propaganda Networks

Tehran Times, 1st April 2024: Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the “barbaric” attack on the Iranian consulate openly violates international regulations, especially the 1961 Vienna Convention. Kanaani also said it is essential that this Israeli act be condemned in the strongest terms by the international community, especially the United Nations, and necessary measures taken in regard to the aggression. The ministry official went on to say that different “aspects of this horrible attack are under investigation and the aggressive Zionist regime is responsible for all consequences.”

Tasnim News, 2nd April 2024: Global Condemnation Follows Israel’s Deadly Strike on Iran Consulate in Syria. Many regional resistance groups and governments around the world have sharply condemned the Israeli regime's deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, calling it a formula for more violence. (Global?)
Let’s look at who ‘globally’ spoke about and who condemned the attack.

• Gaza Strip-based Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned it "in the strongest terms." It described the attack as "a flagrant violation of international law, an encroachment on Syrian and Iranian sovereignty, and a dangerous Zionist escalation."
• Hezbollah resistance movement stated that Martyr Zahedi's "pure blood will result in more determination to resist and confront the arrogant Israeli enemy." It stated that the Israeli government would be "foolish" to believe that such assassinations could "stop the roaring tide of people's resistance." “This crime will certainly not go without the enemy receiving punishment and revenge.”
• The Islamic Jihad, Hamas’ fellow Gaza-based resistance group, called the attack “treacherous.” “This cowardly Zionist attack is an attempt by the enemy to expand aggression and escape failure in Gaza,” it said, referring to the Israeli regime’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.
• The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the second-largest component of the Palestine Liberation Organization umbrella group, called the attack "a significant escalation and organized state terrorism." "The Zionist entity is intent on dragging the region into significant escalation," it said, but warned that doing so would "plunge its citizens into a bloodbath and disasters they cannot bear."
• Fatah al-Intifada, another Palestinian resistance movement, said the Israeli aggression would fail to undermine Tehran's role and the role of the Axis of Resistance, “which will continue to support the Palestinian people and their resistance in occupied Palestine until Palestine is liberated from the filth of the Zionist enemy.”
• Iraq's Kata'ib Hezbollah anti-terror group extended its condolences to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, referring to the attack as “criminal Zionist-American aggression.”
• In Yemen, Ali al-Qahoum, a member of the popular resistance movement Ansarullah's (Houthi’s) Political Bureau, said the invasion demonstrated the Zionist entity's persistence in committing crimes and breaching Syrian sovereignty.
• Arab News, 2nd April 2024: Saudi Arabia has condemned the targeting of the Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital Damascus, a foreign ministry statement said. The foreign ministry expressed “the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of targeting diplomatic facilities for any justification, and under any pretext.” The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We condemn the targeting of the Iranian consulate building in Damascus and denounce the targeting of diplomatic facilities for any cause."
• Several countries, including Pakistan, Oman, Iraq, and Russia, condemned the Israeli aggression, with Moscow describing it as "unacceptable."

Quite a respectable group of ‘global’ organisations of which non have condemned the Iranian-backed 7th October 2023 Hamas and PIJ attack on Israel that killed 1200 people. Murdered numerous women and children and raped an abundant amount of females and males; took against their will a number of shocked hostages of which some have been raped and died whilst held against their will in captivity.

Tasnim News, 2nd April 2024: The Iranian foreign minister said the country has sent an “important message” to the US government and held it accountable as the sponsor of the Zionist regime, which has conducted a fatal strike on the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Syria. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said an official of the embassy of Switzerland, which represents the interests of the US in Iran, was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 12:45 am local time following the Israeli regime’s terrorist attack on the consular section of Iran’s embassy in Damascus that has resulted in the martyrdom of several official military advisers of Iran. “An important message has been sent to the US government as the sponsor of the Zionist regime. The US must be answerable,” the Iranian minister stated.

US ambassador Robert Wood reiterated that Washington has communicated to Iran that it “had no involvement” in the strike on the consulate, nor did it have any knowledge of it ahead of time. “We cannot confirm any information about this event,” he said, adding that “as we gather details, one thing is clear: Iran and its proxy and partner groups need to avoid escalating tensions in the region.” “Terrorists and other armed groups, some backed by the Syrian regime and Iran, have used Syrian territory to plot and launch attacks on Israel and US facilities and personnel,” he added.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, mentioned that Tehran sent a significant message to the U.S. government, without revealing its contents. The message included a warning from Iran to the U.S., stating that the U.S. does not have the right to interfere when Iran retaliates against the Israeli strike. Iranian Mashregh news website also claimed that the U.S. was asked to exercise restraint and caution in picking sides in the ongoing developments.

“In a written message, the Islamic Republic of Iran warns US leadership not to get dragged in Netanyahu’s trap for US: Stay away so you won’t get hurt,” said Mohammad Jamshidi, the deputy chief of staff for political affairs to Iran’s president. A White House National Security Council official told Al-Arabiya English that this was inaccurate, calling it “simply wrong – it’s Iranian spin.”

Tasnim New: 2nd April 2024: President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi pledged that the Zionist regime’s crime of conducting Monday’s fatal strike on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus will not go unanswered. In a statement released on Tuesday morning, Raisi said the usurping Zionist regime has brazenly violated international law by committing the terrorist crime of attacking the diplomatic building of Iran in Damascus.

Condemning the “inhumane assault in brazen violation of the international regulations”, the president said the Israeli regime has resorted to blind assassination attacks in an attempt at survival after successive defeats and failures in the face of the resistance front.

The Zionist regime must bear in mind that it won’t be able to achieve its sinister objectives with such inhumane measures and will have to face the growing strength of the resistance front and also the free nations’ hatred and aversion to its illegitimate nature, President Raisi added. “This unfair crime won’t go unanswered,” the Iranian president warned Israel.

MEHR News Agency, 2nd April 2024: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the country will give a severe response to the Israeli aggression against its consulate in Damascus. Ghalibaf made the remarks on Tuesday morning (2nd April 2024), referring to the Israeli regime's Monday missile attack that targeted the building of Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus and led to the martyrdom of 7 IRGC military advisors.

Saying that the fresh Israeli aggression once again revealed the barbaric nature of this regime, Ghalibaf extended condolences to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Resistance officials, and the families of the martyred IRGC advisors.
The Zionists' aggressive and abusive actions will be met with a severe punishment, he stressed.
MEHR News Agency: 2nd April 2024: Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said that the country will give a severe response to the Israeli aggression against its consulate in Damascus.

Saying that the fresh Israeli aggression once again revealed the barbaric nature of this regime, Ghalibaf extended condolences to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Resistance officials, and the families of the martyred IRGC advisors.
MEHR News Agency, 2nd Apri2024: Issuing a message, the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance e on the Iranian consulate and condoled the martyrdom of seven Iranian advisers.

Undoubtedly, the destruction of global Zionism is the punishment for assassination of Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his comrades, Mohammad Mahdi Esmaeili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance wrote.
"Our relentless struggle continues until its realization," Esmaeili said.

"As in the past, we will not hesitate to take any cultural and media initiative to explain the unprecedented barbarities of Zionism," he said.

Today, more than ever, it is clear to the aware people of Iran how global Zionism is determined to kill the free people and the defenceless barefoot people of the world, he said.

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), 2nd April 2024: Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) convened on Monday night and made “appropriate decisions” on how to respond to the Israeli regime’s deadly airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi presided over the meeting in Tehran, where members of the SNSC discussed the Israeli aggression, which led to the martyrdom of seven Iranian military advisors.

“Due to another war crime by the Zionist regime against places and people with diplomatic immunity and the martyrdom of Major General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the Supreme National Security Council held a meeting in the presence of the president as the head of this council last night at 21:00 and appropriate decisions were made,” the SNSC said in a statement on Tuesday (2nd April 2024).

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), 2nd April 2024: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has vowed such a decisive response to the Israeli regime’s strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria that the “much-loathed” regime will regret its action.

“The evil regime will be punished by the hands of our brave warriors. We will make them regret this crime and the like by God’s grace.”

The wording is of great importance within all these texts. Iran believes that it can conduct revolutionary idea and deeds and remain unpunished. However, if there is retaliation for their deeds then Iran believes that it will use any and all means necessary even if that means double standards. For example, while they use the United Nations to in an attempt to bring allegations of war crimes and genocide, they fail to mention what their sub-contractors, proxies and resistance groups conduct those acts themselves.

The blame is always elsewhere and never at Iran’s feet. Iran summons the Swiss consulate who oversee and act on American affairs in the country as the United States does not have an embassy there, to complain about the actions of Americans ally, Israel. If the same accusations were made against Iran, they would not accept the findings and call them ‘baseless.’

Interestingly, and not surprisingly, all these remarks are one-sided rhetoric. There is no mention of the continuous asymmetrical war conducted by Iran against the State of Israel, the United States and other western powers that they wage in order to spread their theocratic revolutionary ideology. The Islamic Republic of Iran believes it has a divine right to attack and kill whoever they and their proxies are ‘advised’ to without any form of retaliation or retribution.

Deaths of Members of the Islamic Republican Guards Corps (IRGC) Since the 7th October 2023
Since the conflict began on the 7th October 2023 the Islamic Republic of Iran has lost a number of the Islamic Republic Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders and ‘advisors’ to Israel strikes. These have been significant losses in Syria.

2nd December 2023 Israel killed two IRGC military advisors in Syria. The IRGC members were Brigadier Generals Mohammad Ali Ataee Shoorcheh and Panah Taqizadeh. The two were targeted after entering a Hezbollah site. The two died of their injuries and five other fighters were wounded.

20th January, 2024 an alleged Israeli strike in Damascus resulted in the deaths of several IRGC officers. General Sadegh Omidzadeh, the intelligence deputy of the IRGC's expeditionary Quds Force in Syria. Omidzadeh’s deputy, known by the nom de guerre Hajj Gholam, Hojjatollah Omidvar, Ali Aghazadeh, Hossein Mohammadi, Saeed Karimi, and Mohammad Amin Samadi.

21st January 2024 an Israeli strike targeting an IRGC commander in Syria resulted in the loss of five IRGC members. The IRGC attributed this strike to Israel, its regional arch-foe. The British-based monitor, which has a vast network of sources inside Syria, said the deaths include “five Iranians, including three IRGC leaders, four Syrians working with the Iranians, one Syrian civilian, two Lebanese, and one Iraqi national”. Iranian news agency Mehr, quoting an anonymous informed source, said “the Revolutionary Guards’ Syria intel chief” and his deputy were among those “martyred in the attack on Syria by Israel.”

In a statement by the IRGC Public Relations Department, said the “savage and criminal Zionist regime” once again carried out an act of aggression against Iranian targets and Syrian sovereignty through its strike on Damascus. The Islamic Republic of Iran condemned the strike as a “desperate attempt to spread instability in region”, state media reported.

The Role of the Islamic Republican Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plays a significant role in Syria, particularly since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

The IRGC provides military assistance to the Syrian government. This includes training, equipment, and strategic advice. They have been instrumental in supporting the Syrian Armed Forces in their fight against various armed opposition groups.

The IRGC’s elite unit, the Quds Force, is actively engaged in Syria. Led by Major General Qasem Soleimani (until his assassination in 2020), the Quds Force focuses on extraterritorial operations. Their primary objective is to strengthen Iran’s influence in the region by supporting allies such as Syria and Hezbollah.

Syria serves as a crucial geopolitical ally for Iran. A stable Syria allows Iran to maintain a land corridor connecting it to Lebanon (via Iraq and Syria). This corridor facilitates the transfer of weapons, fighters, and resources to Hezbollah and others in the Levant, which is a vital proxy for Iran in the region.

The IRGC is involved in counterterrorism operations against groups like the Islamic State (IS) and other extremist factions. They collaborate with Syrian forces to prevent the expansion of jihadist groups within Syria.

Iran’s presence in Syria is part of its broader regional power projection. It aims to counterbalance other regional actors, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. The IRGC’s involvement in Syria reflects Iran’s determination to protect its interests and maintain a foothold in the Levant.

The IRGC’s presence in Syria has led to heightened tensions with Israel. Israel views Iran’s activities in Syria as a direct threat. Israel is constantly conducting airstrikes in Syria targeting IRGC commanders, weapons shipments, and infrastructure in Syria. These strikes aim to disrupt Iran’s efforts to establish a permanent foothold near Israel’s borders.

Syria has become a battleground for proxy conflicts between Iran and Israel. The IRGC’s actions in Syria are part of this broader struggle. Israel perceives the IRGC’s presence as a security challenge and responds accordingly.
 
United Nations Security Meeting
Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), 2nd April 2024: Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA): The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is set to hold an emergency meeting following a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus, a Russian diplomat says.

Tehran-ISNA- Russia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said the session will take place at 03:00 p.m. New York time (1900 GMT) on Tuesday. "After Israel's airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus …, Iranians have turned to the UN Security Council to condemn this action. Following their letter we have requested an open briefing of the UN Security Council,” he said in a social media post.

In a letter sent to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and UNSC President Vanessa Frazier, Iran’s mission to the United Nations called on the world body to denounce the Israeli regime’s "heinous and abhorrent terrorist attack” that killed seven military advisors of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The strike was a “flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the foundational principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises,” read the letter authored by Iran's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Zahra Ershadi.

It carried "far-reaching international implications" that can exacerbate regional tensions.

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), 2nd April 2024: The United Nations Security Council will convene later on Tuesday to discuss the Israeli regime’s act of aggression against Iran’s consulate in Syria, according to Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.

“After Israel’s airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus today, Iranians have turned to the UN Security Council to condemn this action,” Dmitry Polyanskiy wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday night.

“Following their letter we have requested an open briefing of the UN Security Council. The Maltese presidency has scheduled it for 3:00 PM New York time on April 2nd,” he added.

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), 2nd April 2024: Iran demands urgent UNSC meeting on Israeli attack on consulate
The full text of the letter comes as follows:

Upon instructions of my Government, I am writing to you regarding the flagrant violation of fundamental norms and principles of international law by the Israeli regime wherein the Israeli occupying regime perpetrated a heinous and abhorrent terrorist attack on the diplomatic premises of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Syrian Arab Republic. At 4:45 p.m. on 1st April 2024, the Islamic Republic of Iran's diplomatic premises in Damascus were intentionally targeted by missile airstrikes launched by the Israeli regime from the occupied Golan Heights, resulting in the martyrdom and tragic loss of at least five Iranian personnel, including senior military advisors, and the complete destruction of Iran's diplomatic premises in question.

These horrific crimes and cowardly terrorist attacks are a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, international law,  and the foundational principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, as outlined in the 1961 Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Internationally Protected Persons including Diplomatic Agents of 1973 and pose a significant threat to regional peace and security.

Considering the far-reaching international implications of such a reprehensible act which can exacerbate tensions in the region and potentially ignite more conflict involving other nations, the Islamic Republic of Iran urges the Security Council to condemn this unjustified criminal act and terrorist attack perpetrated by the Israel regime in the strongest terms possible.

Furthermore, Iran calls upon the Security Council to take all necessary measures including through an urgent meeting to address this egregious violation, to prevent future acts of aggression that jeopardize the security and safety of diplomatic missions, and to ensure that those responsible for such criminal acts are swiftly brought to justice.

The aggressor Zionist regime bears full responsibility for its consequences and the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right under international law and the United Nations Charter to take a decisive response to such reprehensible acts.

I should be grateful if you would circulate the present letter as a document of the Security Council.

What is the Role off a Military Advisor?

Definition of “Advisors”

Chambers English Dictionary, page 19, Advise: to view, to take thought of, consider; to counsel: to recommend: to inform: to consult (with). Advisor, one who advises.

In the letter from Iran to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Iran makes reference to “senior military advisors” who were assassinated in the raid on the 1st April 2024. In the past the Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat threatened that if the Iran-backed Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group opens a second front against Israel in the north, Israel will target Iranian leaders and “wipe them off the face of the earth.”

Hezbollah has constantly launched missiles into Israel more intensely than normal since the Hamas invasion of Israel on the 7th October 2023.

A military advisor serves as a crucial link between strategic decision-makers and the troops on the ground. Their role encompasses several key responsibilities.

Military advisors provide expert advice to senior commanders and policymakers. They analyse complex situations, assess risks, and recommend courses of action. Their insights help shape military strategy, operational planning, and overall policy.

Advisors work closely with foreign military forces or allied units. They assist in training, mentoring, and strengthening capabilities. This includes imparting knowledge on tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), as well as enhancing combat readiness.

Military advisors bridge cultural gaps. They learn about local customs, traditions, and social dynamics. Understanding the cultural context is essential for effective communication and cooperation with host-nation forces.

Advisors assess risks associated with military operations. They consider factors such as terrain, weather, and enemy capabilities. Their insights help commanders make informed decisions while minimizing risks to personnel and mission success.

Advisors facilitate communication between different military units, government agencies, and international partners. They foster collaboration, resolve issues, and ensure smooth coordination during joint operations.

In complex environments, advisors mediate disputes and promote stability. They help prevent escalation and maintain peace. Their diplomatic skills are crucial for managing tensions and building trust.

Military advisors encounter dynamic challenges. They adapt to changing circumstances, improvise solutions, and think critically. Their ability to solve problems on the ground is invaluable.

Hezbollah Escalation

Secretary General Nasrallah knows well that there was no appetite for war among a majority of the Lebanese population. In 2004, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, which called for the disarmament of non-state militias in Lebanon. This resolution specifically targeted Hezbollah, as it was the most prominent armed group in the country. Hezbollah’s rhetoric remains confrontational, their actions are often calibrated to prevent full-scale conflict. Not only does Lebanon want an all-out conflict but Iran does not want io commit its most powerful ally in the Levant.

Hezbollah, a Shiite movement in Lebanon, has evolved from a shadowy militia in the early 1980s to become a political powerbroker and the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor by four decades later.

After the end of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, Hezbollah was the only Lebanese faction allowed to retain its weapons. This exception was granted to enable Hezbollah to fight against Israel’s occupation of South Lebanon. Israeli forces withdrew from South Lebanon in 2000, but Hezbollah continued to maintain its armed wing.

Hezbollah has consistently rejected any calls for disarmament. Hezbollah justifies its weapons as necessary for resisting Israeli aggression and defending Lebanon. They argue that their arms contribute to Lebanon’s national defence, especially given the ongoing tensions with Israel. Hezbollah’s military strength also translates into significant political influence within Lebanon.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia and its allies suspended diplomatic ties with Lebanon after the then Information Minister, George Kordahi, criticized the Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen. Kordahi was an ally of Hezbollah. The situation highlighted the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons and strained relations between Lebanon and Gulf Arab states.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, asserted that Lebanon would not “hand over” Hezbollah’s weapons. He emphasized that Hezbollah’s existence was non-negotiable in Lebanon. However, Lebanon also assured Gulf countries that it would not allow its territory to be used as a launchpad for activities that violate the interests of Arab nations.

The UN resolution called for no armed presence south of the Litani River other than those of the Lebanese Armed Forces and UN peacekeepers. It also called for Israel’s withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar, which Lebanon claims. Syria claims the southern part.

Hezbollah’s two objectives, as stated by Nasrallah, will be to put pressure on Israel to stop the war and to assist people in Gaza by forcing Israel to divert some of its resources to the northern border.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group has rebuffed Washington’s initial proposal for stopping clashes with neighbouring Israel, such as pulling its fighters further from the border.

US envoy Amos Hochstein met Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, foreign minister, army commander and speaker of parliament in January 2024, Hezbollah had not been directly involved in talks as it has been branded a terrorist organisation.

A proposal was also communicated to Hezbollah that its fighters move seven kilometres (4 miles) from the border, two of the three Lebanese officials said. That would still leave fighters much closer than Israel’s public demand of a 30-kilometer (19-mile) withdrawal to the Litani River stipulated in a 2006 UN resolution. Hezbollah has dismissed both ideas as unrealistic, the Lebanese officials and the diplomat said. The group has long ruled out giving up weapons or withdrawing fighters, many of whom hail from the border region and melt into society when there are not hostilities.

Conclusion

Iran may not retaliate directly against Israel for the death of General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. Although the Tehran government has stated openly it deserves the right to retaliate Iran is a little limited as to where it can strike at an Israeli embassy.

Firstly, it has already requested that the United Nations act against Israel which has not happened. If Iran retaliates against Israel in the same manner, then it shows that they use the UN and if they do not get the action, they demand then they are prepared to take the law into their own hands in order to achieve what they command. When it comes to the UN Iran always wants its own way and if not, they claim that the reply is politically motivated or that they are anti-Iran.

Secondly although Israel has closed some of its embassies around the world in anticipation of an Iranian retaliatory strike a number of Israeli embassies have shut down after the Hamas attack on Israel on the 7th October 2024 should sympathisers attack them.

Thirdly, the country that hosts an Israeli embassy may also host an Iranian embassy as well. Unlike Israel attacking Iran in Syria where both countries dislike Israel, Israel does not have an embassy in Damascus. If Iran were to attack an embassy in a country where both Israel and Iran share then it would severely harm relations between that host country should Iran choose to attack Israel’s embassy there.

Not only are Iran’s choices limited but they are possibly a non-starter when it comes to retaliation. If Iran attacks directly then they will suffer any fallout from that attack. It is more probable that Iran will use one or all of its proxies to conduct any retaliation and then claim deniability as usual. The choice of target and the execution of the retaliatory operation will have to be considered with great thought by the government of Tehran.

The last thing Iran wants is an escalation to the conflict especially if it’s aimed at them for any sort of over-the-top revenge. But Iran needs to show face to those who follow that they carry out their actions and they are not just words. The revolution must continue but not at any cost.

The accusation by the Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi who accused the action of Israel against its top figures as ‘profound desperation and helplessness’ is very wrong. The State of Israel is still very strong and willing not only to stand up against Hamas, the PIJ and Hezbollah but also against the puppet master, the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

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“Iran would only sell weapons to countries that it is sure “won’t misuse them” and will employ them strictly for defence purposes.”
(Iran’s defence minister Amir Hatami, in an interview with state television on 18th October 2020 regarding the lifting of the United Nations arms embargo)
 
The United Nations and Iran Urge Immediate Stop of Arms to Israel
Hamas
Although the United Nations defines Hamas as a political party, we can break this down.
Hamas, officially known as Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Islamic Resistance Movement), is a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement that governs parts of the occupied Gaza Strip. Unlike Hezbollah, which identifies as a Shia resistance movement, Hamas adheres to the Sunni branch of Islam. Hamas won the majority of parliamentary seats it was not elected to power. Hamas took control by a bloody and savage coup in 2007.
There have been signs that some Palestinian civilians are openly challenging Hamas’s authority. Angry crowds have thrown stones at Hamas police, and people in UN shelters have hurled insults at Hamas officials. While not all Palestinians are members of Hamas or support it, most agree with its basic ideology.
Hamas later established a military wing known as the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Its primary goal was to engage in armed resistance against Israel with the aim of liberating Palestine. In some cases, political parties have direct affiliations with armed groups. These parties fuse ballots and bullets, combining electoral participation with armed activities. Examples include Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IRA in Northern Ireland. Hamas and al-Qassam Brigades are no different.
A political group that once elected remains in power is often referred to as an “incumbent” party or government. When a party or leader wins an election and continues to hold office without being replaced by another party, they are considered incumbents. This situation can occur in various forms of government, including democracies and non-democratic systems. For instance, the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler maintained power after winning the 1933 election in Germany.
Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has functioned as a de facto one-party state under Hamas rule. However, smaller parties are tolerated to varying degrees. These include: Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ), Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), a faction of Fatah that opposes President Abbas.
While Hamas maintains its dominant position, these smaller parties continue to exist, albeit with limited influence.
A one-party state, also known as a single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system, is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. All other parties are either outlawed or only enjoy limited and controlled participation in elections.
Sometimes, the term “de facto one-party state” describes a dominant-party system that, while allowing nominally democratic multiparty elections, effectively prevents the opposition from winning power due to existing practices or the balance of political power.
Historically, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ruling over the Ottoman Empire following the 1913 coup d’état is often considered the first one-party state. These states justify their existence through various methods.
Proponents argue that separate parties run counter to national unity. Some claim that the ruling party represents the most politically aware members and is the legitimate authority to govern. The Soviet government asserted that only a single party could lead a classless proletariat, thereby making the Communist Party of the Soviet Union the sole authorized political party.
Examples of one-party states include North Korea, China and Cuba.
United Nations
The United Nations does not call Hamas terrorists but a political party. The United Nations (UN) has a delicate stance regarding Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Martin Griffiths, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, stated that Hamas is not a terrorist organization. He made this statement during a TV interview, emphasizing that he has worked with various groups, including those labelled as terrorists. Griffiths clarified that Hamas is viewed as a political movement by the UN, not a terrorist group.
The UN body formerly known as the 1267 Committee, now called the ISIL (Dae’sh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, does not officially designate Hamas (or any other Iranian proxy) as a terrorist group. Consequently, no UN condemnation of Hamas’s brutal attacks explicitly labelled the group as a terrorist organization.
While the UN does not officially label Hamas as a terrorist group, several countries and entities do. Israel, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have all designated Hamas as a terror organization. These designations are based on Hamas’s history of violence, suicide bombings, and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.
Griffiths’ statement sparked outrage from Israel, which views Hamas as a terrorist entity. Israeli officials criticized the UN for what they perceive as bias against Israel. Despite Griffiths’ clarification, tensions persist regarding the UN’s handling of the Hamas issue.
On the 23rd February 2024 UN experts said, “any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.” The report continued with, “States must accordingly refrain from transferring any weapon or ammunition — or parts for them — if it is expected, given the facts or past patterns of behaviour, that they would be used to violate international law.” Lastly the UN experts said, “the need for an arms embargo on Israel is heightened by the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the 26th January 2024, that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza and the continuing serious harm to civilians since then.”
Clearly the United Nations does not wish for Israels call for self-defence to be legitimate and there was no mention regarding the release of the hostages that were forcibly taken by Hamas, the Palestine Islamic jihad and other terrorist groups.
The United Nations has not called on Iran to halt its supply of weapons and ammunition to its proxies nor to stop other Iranian-backed terrorist groups from gaining military logistics from the largest state-sponsoring terrorist organisation in the world. Namely the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Attempts to Stop Supplying Weapons to the State of Israel
During the 11th and 12th January 2024 when South Africa accused the State of Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Iran supported such a move. The ruling failed to stop the war in the Gaza Strip. The judgement on the 26th January 2024 did state that Israel was to take measures to stop any form of genocide and avoid civilian casualties and the destruction of property. The court also stated that the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group release all hostages, unconditionally.
As of the 26th February 2024 the Israeli government was submitting a report to show how Israel was complying with the court’s decision. The court had stated that Israel submits a report within one month of its ruling on improving measures on the Gaza humanitarian situation and to stop the ‘plausible’ arguments regarding the accusation of genocide. The required report was not for the public domain.   
Calls from the Islamic State of Iran and other countries to stop the supply of weapons to Israel came after the Hague ruling. The Tehran government sees the court’s decision whereby Israel has to take all measures to stop the deaths of civilians and the destruction of property as ‘to stop supplying weapons and ammunition’ in order for Israel to cease the destruction and death in the Gaza Strip. This would help with the survival of Hamas.
The court recognised Israel’s right to self-defence. Should nations stop supplying military logistics to Israel then that would affect its right to self-defence. Iran has, bent and twisted, the court ruling to suit its own agenda, that of the destruction of the State of Israel.
Iran uses the excuse to arm its proxies by pointing out that the United States supports and provides weapons to Israel and other allies in the region. While Iran accuses the Americans of funding Israel and its defensive capabilities by supplying weapons and ammunition it does so openly and fairly in public business transactions, accountability and by government approval. Iran, on the other hands does none of those things. The American Senate and the House of Representatives has to approve the budget for these matters before any action is taken. Both houses of Congress must approve the legislation before Biden can sign it into law.
The Tehran government openly admits that it supports its proxy or resistance groups, but any attempt to look for any open business transactions for weapons, ammunition, missiles or parts of, then you will be there for a long time as the theocratic government does not publish such documents. Recently, on the 16th January 2024, while Iran states that it supports peace in Yemen a boat was intercepted smuggling sophisticated missile components to the Houthi’s.
Iran has been a key patron of the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2006. Here are the details regarding Iran’s funding to Hamas.
Annual Funding
According to a 2020 U.S. State Department report, Iran provides approximately $100 million annually to Palestinian militant groups, including Hamas. This does not include any funding for ordinary Palestinians. Hamas sees the welfare of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip as a United Nations responsibility. However, as of 2023, an Israeli security source indicated that Iran had significantly increased its funding for Hamas to $350 million a year.
Relations between Iran and Hamas strengthened after the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) pursued peace efforts with Israel. During the 1990s, Iran committed to both military and financial backing, providing approximately $30 million per year. Additionally, thousands of Hamas members received military training at Revolutionary Guard bases in Iran and Lebanon. Following the Second Intifada, Iran’s support for Hamas continued to grow.
Iran and Hamas became dramatically closer after Hamas’ unexpected win in the 2006 Palestinian elections and its violent seizure of the Gaza Strip in 2007. In 2006, Iran committed to providing $250 million in assistance to the nearly insolvent Palestinian Authority in Gaza, now under Hamas control.
In the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) collaborated with Hamas to plan a surprise attack in southern Israel. The attack resulted in casualties and hostage-taking. Some 500 fighters from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad received training in Iran, under the guidance of the IRGC Quds Force.
United Nations Arms Embargo Against the Islamic Republic of Iran
A decade-long United Nations arms embargo on Iran, which prevented it from purchasing foreign weapons such as tanks and fighter jets, expired on the 18th October 2020 as planned under its nuclear deal with world powers. This occurred despite objections from the United States, which maintained that the ban should have remained in place. While Iran asserts that it has no plans for a “buying spree,” it can now theoretically purchase weapons to upgrade its military armaments dating back to before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and sell its locally produced gear abroad. However, in practice, Iran’s economy remains crippled by broad-reaching U.S. sanctions, and other nations may hesitate to engage in arms deals with Tehran due to fear of American financial retaliation.
Iran is currently negotiating a deal with its ally Russia for the purchase of Sukhoi Su-35 air-defence fighter and is supplying drones to Russia.
The Trump administration had warned that any sales of weapons to Iran or exports from Iran will be penalized. Although the arms embargo has technically expired, the U.S. insists that it reimposed all UN sanctions on Iran, including the arms embargo, via a clause in the nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew in 2018. However, this claim has been ignored by the rest of the world.
Iran, on the other hand, views the end of the arms embargo as a “momentous day for the international community” and a win for multilateralism and peace and security in the region. The then U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, however, flatly rejected the expiration and emphasizes that the U.S. was prepared to use its domestic authorities to sanction any individual or entity materially contributing to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran.
In an interview with Iranian government state run television on 18th October 2020, Iran’s defence minister Amir Hatami said Iran would only sell weapons to countries that it is sure “won’t misuse them” and will employ them strictly for defence purposes. Iranian weapons were found in Gaza by the IDF a report in the Jerusalem Post sated on the 18th February 2024.
The European Union  
The European Union (EU) holds a balanced position regarding Hamas. Official EU Statement (October 2023). The European Council has condemned Hamas in the strongest possible terms for its brutal and indiscriminate terrorist attacks across Israel. The EU deeply deplores the loss of lives caused by these attacks. In a statement the EU emphasizes that there is no justification for terror. The EU strongly emphasizes Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with humanitarian and international law.
It also calls on Hamas to release all hostages without any precondition.
The EU remains committed to a lasting and sustainable peace based on the two-state solution through reinvigorated efforts in the Middle East Peace Process.
In 2014, the EU had designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. However, in 2019, the European Court of Justice annulled this designation, citing issues with the process and the need for specific evidence. The EU has since worked to reinstate the designation to protect its regime against further legal challenges.
While the EU acknowledges Hamas’s role in the region, it balances this with the need for peace and stability. The situation remains controversial, and the EU engages with various actors to prevent further escalation. The EU views Hamas as a group responsible for violence but navigates a delicate path to address the broader context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
On the 12th February 2024 EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged allies of Israel, primarily the United States, to stop sending weapons to Israel. However, there are some EU countries that have halted weapon exports to Israel. The countries are Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium. These countries have stopped for the time being should there be a situational judicial case to answer in the Israeli ‘plausible’ case of genocide.
On the 26th February 2024 Josep Borrell responded to questions about his assertion in January that Israel had “created” and “financed” the Hamas militia group, a claim made amid the country’s war against Hamas in Gaza. “I do not say that (Israel) financed it by sending a cheque, but it has enabled the development of Hamas” as a rival to leading Palestinian party Fatah. “It is an unquestionable reality that Israel has bet on dividing the Palestinians, creating a force to oppose Fatah,” he said.
Nothing was mentioned regarding Iranian support for Hamas and the Palestinian Jihad group and how they obtain their weapons.
We should understand how Hamas evolved.
The Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna in Ismailia, Egypt, has undergone significant evolution over the years. Initially, the Brotherhood focused on religious and educational programs, providing essential social services. In the 1930s, its membership grew rapidly as it addressed social needs. However, it began to politicize its outlook, opposing Egypt’s ruling Wafd party during World War II.
In the late 1930s, the Brotherhood established an armed branch, which engaged in violent acts like bombings and assassinations. The group’s armed element sometimes operated independently of Hassan al-Banna’s control. In 1948, the Brotherhood assassinated Prime Minister Maḥmūd Fahmī al-Nuqrāshī. Hassan al-Banna himself was assassinated shortly afterward, possibly at the government’s behest.
With the 1952 revolutionary regime in Egypt, the Brotherhood went underground. An attempt to assassinate Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1954 led to its forcible suppression. Several leaders were executed for treason, and many members were imprisoned. Writer Sayyid Quṭb, imprisoned during this time, authored influential works that shaped modern Sunni militancy.
Over the years, the Brotherhood experienced ideological shifts. From an active participant in a nationalist movement. To a banned group operating underground, leaning toward armed struggle. And then back to a reformist-minded party.
After the 2011 uprising in Egypt, the Brotherhood briefly held power. Despite challenges, it continues to pursue its mission, navigating a complex path in the ever-changing political landscape. the Muslim Brotherhood’s evolution reflects a blend of social services, political activism, and ideological adaptations, shaped by historical events and internal dynamics.
The Evolution of Hamas
Israel did not create or finance Hamas contrary to claims by the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Hamas, founded in 1987, emerged during the First Intifada against Israeli occupation. Its origins trace back to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement, which had been active in the Gaza Strip since the 1950s. Here’s how Hamas evolved from its roots.
Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian imam and activist, established Hamas in 1987. Before this, Yassin had been associated with the Mujama al-Islamiya, an Islamic charity affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
The outbreak of the First Intifada provided the context for Hamas’s formation. It quickly gained a broad following among Palestinians. Unlike the traditional Muslim Brotherhood approach, Hamas embraced armed resistance. It became the first Muslim organization to use suicide bombers as a tactic against Israel.
Hamas leaders recognized that waiting for a Palestinian state was futile, given Israel’s superior military strength. In 1999, Hamas moved its leadership from Jordan to Syria. Between 2001 and 2008, Hamas underwent significant changes. It restructured its organization and strategic vision. It sought a strong base of support deeply rooted in society.
It became an independent organization, distinct from the formal leadership of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood. Its ties with the Jordanian regime and the Jordanian Brotherhood evolved. Hamas evolved from its Muslim Brotherhood roots, adapting its strategies and organizational structure to navigate the complex dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and regional politics.
What was the Muslim Brotherhood’s Stance on Israel?
Historically, the Brotherhood has advocated anti-Israel sentiments. It has supported violent resistance against Israel and terrorism. Some prominent Brotherhood members, like Dr. Muhammad Mursi, were involved in committees against Israel and Zionism. The Brotherhood’s rhetoric has included anti-Semitic claims, portraying Jews as innately evil and enemies of Islam.
While the Brotherhood itself is Sunni, it has embraced movements like Hamas, which is Sunni but closely aligned with the Brotherhood. Hamas considers itself the spearhead of the struggle against Israel.
Hezbollah, a Shia resistance movement, also shares anti-Israel sentiments. Although not directly affiliated with the Brotherhood, it has received support from Iran, which has influenced its stance on Israel.
The Brotherhood’s political platform, published in 2007, offered an alternative to the Mubarak regime in Egypt, including a different approach to Israel. Its position has evolved over time, influenced by regional dynamics and internal considerations. The Brotherhood’s stance on Israel has been marked by both anti-Israel rhetoric and pragmatic political choices. It’s essential to recognize that different leaders within the Brotherhood may hold varying views.
The understanding of Hamas evolved is important and proves Mr Josep Borrell statement regarding Israel forming Hamas as incorrect.
Fatah
The other organisation that Josep Borrell mentioned was Fatah. This is a brief round-up of the group.
Fatah, also known as the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a political and military organization of Arab Palestinians. It was founded in the late 1950s by Yasser Arafat and Khalīl al-Wazīr (also known as Abū Jihād). Fatah’s primary aim was to liberate Palestine from Israeli control through low-intensity guerrilla warfare.
Initially, Fatah focused on armed struggle against Israel. It obtained Syrian support and was based in Damascus. In 1964, Fatah carried out its first military operation by blowing up an Israeli water-pump installation.
By 1968, Fatah had emerged as a major Palestinian force, especially after its strong showing in the Karameh battle in Jordan. It became the largest and best-funded of all Palestinian organizations and took over effective control of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
In the late 1980s, Fatah began seeking a two-state solution through diplomatic avenues. Its leaders played prominent roles in the Oslo peace process, which led to the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. Fatah’s journey reflects both militancy and a shift toward negotiation in pursuit of Palestinian rights.
What is the History of Iran's Involvement with Terrorist Groups?
Since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has faced accusations from several countries regarding its involvement with terrorist groups. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been accused of training, financing, and providing weapons and safe havens for non-state militant actors. These include, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and other Palestinian groups such as Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
These groups are designated as terrorist organizations by various countries and international bodies like the EU, UN, and NATO. However, Iran considers them to be “national liberation movements” with a right to self-defence against Israeli military occupation.
Iranian Republic Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF)
Iran’s special operations unit, the Quds Force, plays a significant role. It provides arms, training, and financial support to militias and political movements across the Middle East, including; Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen.
How has Iranian Supplied Arms and Ammunition Effected the Security of the Middle East?
Iran’s involvement in supplying arms and ammunition has had significant implications for the security dynamics in the Middle East. Iran’s military-industrial complex has expanded rapidly since the mid-1990s. It reportedly exports weapons to fifty-seven countries, including conflict zones, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The actual export value is likely higher than reported and is expected to rise further as restrictions are relaxed.
Iran’s primary arms customers are believed to be in the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It offers cheap and reliable weapons, which may attract emerging markets. However, due to economic sanctions, Iran closely guards its export figures and customer identities.
Independent investigations have found Iranian weapons and ammunition in service with various nonstate entities. These include foreign-backed insurgents, rebel forces, Islamist armed groups, and warring civilian communities in countries like Cote d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iraqi Shiite militias are also beneficiaries of Iranian arms.
Potential Threats to Regional Security
The upsurge in arms exports could affect Iran’s allies and proxies in the Middle East and beyond. If such equipment ends up in the wrong hands, it poses a threat to regional security. Terrorist and extremist groups in the Middle East, West Asia, and Africa could gain access to Iranian weapons.
What has the United Nations done to Deter Iran Exporting Arms and Ammunition to Others?
The United Nations (UN) has taken several measures to address Iran’s arms exports. UN Security Council Resolution 2231. On the 20th July 2015, the UN adopted Resolution 2231 specifically related to Iran. This resolution endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
In March 2007, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1747, which established an embargo on the export of all arms and related materials from Iran. This embargo effectively prohibited all states and groups from purchasing or receiving arms from Iran.
The UN arms embargo on Iran would have expired on the 18th October 2023 had it been left to run its natural course. Despite this expiration, the United States has been closely monitoring Iran’s actions. The international community stands ready to respond swiftly and severely if Iran engages in such arms transactions. In the past the UN has played a crucial role in regulating Iran’s arms exports, but recent developments have raised concerns about potential proliferation and its impact on regional security.
How does the United Nations Police Iran’s Arms Exports?
The United Nations (UN) has taken several measures to address Iran’s arms exports. Annex B of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (17th July 2015) endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal.
The UN monitors and reports on Iran’s compliance with the arms embargo. The Security Council receives regular updates on Iran’s arms-related activities. This information helps shape international responses and decisions.
Member states collaborate to prevent illicit arms transfers by sharing intelligence, track suspicious shipments, and enforce sanctions. Cooperation among nations is crucial in policing Iran’s arms exports.
The UN sanctions regime aims to deter Iran from exporting arms. Diplomatic efforts encourage Iran to comply with international norms. Sanctions may be imposed on entities violating the embargo. Policing arms exports is challenging due to covert channels and regional dynamics. Balancing security concerns with diplomatic engagement remains delicate.
The exporting of drones to Russia in its illegal war against the Ukraine along with other countries has proven to be extremely difficult to police.
How Effective has the United Nations (UN) Policing Iran’s Arms Exports Been?
The effectiveness of the United Nations (UN) in policing Iran’s arms exports has been a topic of concern and debate. Despite heavy sanctions, Iran has managed to build a burgeoning arms industry over the last decade.
It has become proficient in producing cost-effective ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Iran’s arms exports have raised concerns, especially to countries like Syria, Venezuela, and Russia, as well as various armed factions in the Middle East. These exports raise worries about human rights violations and the risk of civilian casualties in conflicts.
The expiration of UN arms embargoes allowed Iran to import and export conventional arms. The lifting of restrictions on components for ballistic missiles and UAVs further raised international concerns.
Iran has reportedly developed a global arms industry, with an estimated 200 to 240 production sites across Iran and other countries. It specializes in cost-effective ballistic missiles and UAVs.
The European Union (EU) and the United States have imposed separate restrictions on Iran’s arms trade to reduce proliferation. However, these restrictions are regional and do not carry the same weight as UN Security Council measures.
Iran’s arms exports pose a threat to regional security. There are claims that these weapons have been used in attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq by Iran-backed militias. The lack of Iran’s participation in the Arms Trade Treaty exacerbates concerns about potential misuse of exported weapons. The UN has implemented embargoes and monitored Iran’s actions; challenges remain in effectively policing Iran’s arms exports. Regional and national restrictions play a role, but the situation remains intricate.
Who Supplies the Weapons to Hamas and the Palestine Islamic Jihad Terrorist Groups?
Both designated terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), receive support from various sources.
Iran established ties with Hamas and PIJ in the 1980s. Iran provides funding, weapons, and training to these militant groups. Iran transfers several types of artillery rockets, including Fajr 3, Fajr 5, and M302s (originally made in Syria) to Gaza. Tehran focuses on equipping its allies and proxies, including Palestinian factions, with the knowledge and equipment to produce rockets locally. The goal is to enhance their ability to operate Iranian-delivered rockets and build their own missiles.
Historically, Iran smuggled weapons via Sudan, where the IRGC Quds Force operated warehouses. Some rocket production for Palestinian factions may have been constructed there. These rockets were then smuggled via Egypt through tunnels from the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza. However, Egypt has sealed or destroyed many tunnels since 2013.
How are Weapons Smuggled into the Gaza Strip?
Weapons are smuggled into the Gaza Strip through various covert methods, despite strict border controls.
Smuggling Tunnels. Underground Network: The Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels are a network of tunnels dug beneath the Egypt–Gaza border, specifically along the Philadelphi Route. These tunnels were initially created to subvert the blockade imposed on Gaza and facilitate the smuggling of essential goods, including fuel, food, and weapons.
These tunnels serve as secret passages for transporting weapons, ammunition, and other contraband into Gaza. They connect the southern part of Gaza (in Palestinian territory) with the smaller part of Rafah located in Egypt (Rafah is situated on the border between the two countries). The first recorded discovery of such a tunnel by Israel was in 1983, after Israel had withdrawn from the Sinai. These tunnels often start from basements of houses in Rafah on one side of the border and end in houses on the other side.
After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, control of the Rafah Border Crossing shifted. Israel declared that Palestinians would not have control of their side of the crossing, leading to restrictions on movement. Egypt intermittently opened and closed the Rafah crossing during this period. The Kerem Shalom crossing became the primary route for goods, supervised by Israelis and monitored by EU personnel.
In June 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. Following this, both Egypt and Israel largely sealed their border crossings with Gaza, citing the absence of Palestinian Authority security on the Palestinian side. Despite these measures, weapons continue to be smuggled into Gaza. Arms suppliers use tunnels as an alternative route to supply weapons, bypassing maritime control by the Israeli Navy.
In 2009, Egypt began constructing an underground barrier to block existing tunnels and make new ones harder to dig. However, some smuggling persists. In 2013–2014, Egypt’s military destroyed most of the 1,200 smuggling tunnels. The Gaza Strip’s smuggling tunnels remain a critical conduit for weapons and other contraband, despite efforts to curb their use.
How did Egypt Destroy the Tunnels into the Gaza Strip?
Egypt employed several methods to destroy the tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. In 2015, the Egyptian military initiated a strategy to flood the tunnels by transferring Mediterranean Sea water to the Rafah border area. Egypt also attempted to flood the tunnels with sewage. A newly-built crude canal was filled with seawater, which flowed into the tunnels, rendering them unusable. These tunnels, often 20 meters deep and stretching up to 300 meters inside Egyptian Rafah side, were severely impacted by this flooding. The Egyptian government aimed not only to disrupt the tunnels but also to economically weaken Hamas.
Egyptian military bulldozers destroyed many homes on the Egyptian side of Rafah to create a buffer zone. This zone extended between 500 and 1,000 meters on the Egyptian side and 1,000 meters on the Gaza side. Entire neighbourhoods were flattened to prevent tunnel construction and secure the border.
The flooding approach caused concern for the local environment and the livelihoods of communities living around the border. It led to ground subsidence, damaging already-meagre homes and livelihoods. Egypt’s efforts aimed to curb the “tunnel economy” that had flourished in Gaza, but it also affected civilians and their homes.
Israel also attempted to combat Gaza’s tunnels by digging a canal and pumping seawater into the 14 km borderline with Egypt. However, due to environmental damage and risks to natural aquifer water systems, Israel eventually built a separation wall instead. Despite these efforts, desperate Gazans continued to build tunnels to escape Israel’s economic restrictions.
Has the Destruction of Tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip Worked?
The destruction of tunnels from Egypt to the Gaza Strip has had mixed results. While some tunnels have been rendered unusable due to flooding and buffer zones, others continue to operate. The flooding strategy and buffer zones have disrupted several tunnels, making them impassable. The destruction of tunnels has weakened the “tunnel economy” that relied on smuggling goods and weapons. Hamas impose a tunnel tax to assist with revenues. Egypt’s efforts contribute to border security and prevent illegal activities.
Despite these measures, some tunnels remain operational. Desperate Gazans continue to build new ones. The flooding approach caused environmental damage and affected local communities. Bulldozing homes and creating buffer zones displaced civilians and impacted their livelihoods.
Does Iran use the United Nations for its own Revolutionary Cause?
Iran, with its revolutionary ideology and geopolitical interests, has strategically engaged with the United Nations (UN) to further its goals. Iran actively participates in UN forums, including the General Assembly and various specialized agencies. It uses these platforms to advocate for its revolutionary principles, challenge Western dominance, and promote its vision of a multipolar world.
Iran cites international law and UN resolutions to support its positions. For instance, it refers to Resolution 2231 (related to the Iran nuclear deal) to argue against sanctions and arms embargoes.
Iran engages in soft power diplomacy by highlighting its commitment to human rights and social justice. It uses UN mechanisms to criticize Western countries and project itself as a champion of justice.
Iran builds alliances with like-minded countries within the UN. It collaborates with nations that share its anti-Western sentiments, especially in the context of anti-imperialism and anti-Zionism.
Iran often challenges Western narratives and policies within UN debates. It criticizes the United States and its allies, particularly regarding issues like Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.
Iran strategically uses the UN to advance its revolutionary cause, shape global narratives, and challenge Western dominance. Its engagement is multifaceted, combining diplomacy, legal arguments, and propaganda.
Some examples of the Iranian use of the United Nations
During a session at the United Nations on the 6th February 2024 Iran’s envoy to the United Nations said that regional groups act independently. The Iranian government run news outlet Fars News Agency reported: Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani once again stressed that the resistance groups in West Asia are not directed by Tehran and do not take orders from Tehran, adding that they have legitimate rights to end the illegal US presence in Iraq and Syria, stop the killings in Gaza and end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
Addressing a United Nations Security Council meeting on the threat to international peace, the ambassador touched on anti-Israeli and anti-US operations by various resistance groups across the Western Asia region.
“All of the resistance groups in the region are independent and their decisions and actions are motivated by their legitimate rights under international law, which include ending the illegal presence of the US in their territories, stopping the genocide in Gaza, and ending the occupation of the Palestinian territories,” he said.
“Therefore, any attempt to attribute these actions to Iran or its Armed Forces is misleading, baseless, and unacceptable,” Iravani added.
“It is evident to everyone that the root causes of the crises in the region are occupation, aggression, and the continued genocide and horrific atrocities [that are being] committed by the Israeli regime and fully supported by the US against innocent Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank,” the envoy stressed.
For all the trouble that Iran causes in the Middle East on the 11th February 2024 the Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi called for the expulsion of Israel from the United Nations following the Zionist regime’s military onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip. They failed to mention who was the chess master behind the attack nor the Israeli hostages held by their proxy groups.
On the 24th February 2024 Iran declared that it would be the voice of Palestine at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
On the 26th February 2024 Islamic Republic of Iran Foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian attended the 55th session of the Human Rights Council. Iran foreign minister in his speech said: The Islamic Republic of Iran remains steadfast in adhering to and respecting human rights and dignity based on its national cultural values and the Islamic teaching.
Using the world platform, he went on to say, “Unfortunately, the realization of the lofty goals of human rights is faced with some trying challenges, the most urgent of which is the systematic and widespread “human slaughtering" by the world's only apartheid regime i.e. the occupying war-mongering regime of Israel.”
The world is witnessing the maximum support for the Israeli atrocities by the United States of America and some of its allies that make them complicit to the ongoing crime of genocide. The Human Rights Council must hold the Zionist regime and its supporters accountable for the atrocity crimes committed in the occupied Palestine.
Islamophobia, which is mainly a result of racist and supremacist discourses in some political circles in the West, still persists in many ways. The consequence of such extremism is the rise in discrimination and religion-based violence in different parts of the world against Muslim individuals and communities and their sanctities. This is all the while that Islam is a religion of mercy and humanity, and this challenge needs to receive continuous attention in the Human Rights Council. The national, cultural and religious values and beliefs of nations should be respected and the imposition of a single prescriptions for all nations should be avoided.
Within these examples its easy to see how the Islamic Republic uses any and all platforms to drive home their hate against those who oppose them. Regarding human rights and according to the Global Economy human rights ranking website from 2007 – 2022 the Islamic Republic of Iran had the second worst human rights record in the world. Israel was rated at number 141. The Iranian backed Houthi’s in Yemen being the worst with Norway being the best.
The Biden Administration
Once Joe Biden, the New American President came to office on the 20th January 2021 doubts crept in regarding America’s response to its allies in the Middle East. The administration wanted to renegotiate the nuclear agreement (JCPOA) with Iran which his predecessor Republican Donald Trump had withdrawn from in 2018. The Democrats had used the renegotiation as an election promise. Once in the White House Biden toned down his stance and rhetoric against Iran in the hope that all parties would return to the negotiation table and he could bring about his electoral promise. But Tehran is one of these governments that will take and offer nothing in return.
American allies in the Middle East saw this as allowing Iran to basically do what it wanted in West Asia and relax the policing of sanctions against them. The allies believed that this action would bring about an even worse unsettling peace in the region than by not keeping Iran in check.
The Biden administration stated that they would always help their allies in times of need. The allies were not convinced and even swayed towards Russia as a possible replacement.
The Biden administration has since proven that they stand by their word on supporting their allies in times of need. The Arab nations of the Middle East did not envisage the Hamas attack on the State of Israel on the 7th October 2023. But, true to their word, the United States is supporting their ally, Israel. Those Arab nations who wanted the reassurance of the Americans did not expect the 7th October nor the response from the Biden administration nor that it would be the State of Israel that would be the first in need of American assistance.
Nations must understand that there are Israeli’s and Arabs living in the same region. If they all want peace then any interfering body must be kept out. That includes any and all proxies and the support of those entities.
Conclusion
It appears that the request by the United Nations is somewhat one-sided as are some views in the European Union. The major disruptive actor in the region of West Asia who supports, trains, funds and supplies are the one at fault by continually stoking the embers of a fire in which the flames do the damage. It’s all very well demanding that countries stop selling military equipment to Israel but if that happened it would make the Iranian revolutionary goal of destroying Israel that much easier. By stating that one side of the conflict be denied weapons and military logistics but allowing the other to receive weapons and ammunition is both idiotic and biased. The only way to stop more conflicts similar to the Israel/Gaza situation is to be more pro-active in dealing with those responsible for the upset in the Middle East. Like a chess master, Iran uses its pawns to fight its battles but keeping its main pieces in reserve. Hamas have been proven to be a terrorist group but the United Nations refuses to see that and then blame another state for the current chaotic and catastrophic events. The United Nations is aware that Iran uses them for a double-edged reason but it appears that no one confronts Iran for their propaganda use on a world platform, thus allowing them to spread more lies. The United Nations seems to blame Israel but in reality, if the UN was to take a more aggressive stand with Iran, then this and other events in the Middle East may not happen. It is time that the UN, the EU and those who live in the Middle East come together and outlaw the Tehran government if it wants a settled peace negotiation. Hamas have been proven to be a terrorist group but the United Nations refuses to see that and then blames another state for the chaotic and catastrophic events. Perhaps once the conflict in Gaza has ended, countries, nations and world bodies will see that they cannot keep turning their back on the main cause of problems in the Middle East but make moves to end them once and for all. It will be time to stand up to the plate and ensure that a conflict such as the one in Gaza never happen again.
 
Paul Ashley

 
“The further backward you can look, the further forward you are likely to see.”
(Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill)
 
Israel and Hamas Conflict: Time is Running Out for Hamas?
Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad Preparations and After the 7th October 2024
No doubt when Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran started to plan for the day that Hamas would invade Israel, they would have studied every conceivable concept and scenario, Israeli reactions and the tactics they employed in order to pre-empt the Israeli response. The leaders would have studied many of the conflicts that Israel had been involved in and how they would have reacted. Conducting TEWT’s (Tactical Exercise Without Troops) paper exercises on desk-tops and discussions without having soldiers on the ground. As it turned out Hamas also had mock sites built for its fighters to rehearse the attack. They would have studied the Six-Day war in June 1967, the War of Attrition 1967 – 1970, the Yom Kippur War October 1973. Other conflicts in which Israel had been involved which would have been carefully looked at would have been those closer to home such as fighting against the Palestinians themselves. The First Intifada 1987 – 1993 the first full scale Palestinian uprising against Israel in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Gaza War of December 2008 – January 2009; the 2012 Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip or Operation Pillar of Defence (November 2012) – Military offensive on the Gaza Strip, 2014 Gaza War or Operation Protective Edge (July–August 2014) – Military offensive on the Gaza Strip as a response to the collapse of American-sponsored peace talks amongst other clashes. Although Hamas studied other conflicts and believed itself to be well prepared it did not choose the course of action well. Hamas chose the battle field, the Gaza Strip. With its miles of numerous tunnels to be used in a guerrilla style war where they could ‘pop up’ inside Palestinian civilian areas anywhere and inflict damage on the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) then safely disappear. Hamas chose to use the population of the Gaza Strip as human shields; the guiltless, the females and the children, knowing that an Israeli response would see the death of many innocents as Israel fought against Hamas and others in the tiny enclave of the Gaza Strip. Hamas chose fire positions in Mosques, schools, hospitals and the ordinary homes of Palestinians to fight against the IDF. Hamas was relying on world opinion and the mass casualties to stop the war and reduce Hamas’s capabilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel would be forced to withdrawal and Hamas would remain intact and remain in power. The taking of Israeli hostages would see the release of hundreds if not more Hamas, PIJ and others personnel released from Israel jails. A ceasefire would be inevitable and the prisoner swap would happen. Giving Hamas and others total victory over Israel along assisted by Iranian propaganda. Then, when Hamas and the PIJ thought they would be able to read and react to the Israeli response to an invasion, a date would have been proposed and Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and possibly smaller Palestinian terrorist groups would put into operation the plan to invade Israel. That date would have been the 7th October 2023 and Operation Al-Aqsa Flood would commence. The date is as infamous as the unprovoked attacks by the Japanese on Pearl Harbour on the 7th December 1941 and the unprovoked attack by Al-Qaeda against the United States World Trade Centre, New York, and the Pentagon on the 11th September 2001.
Israel Response
Between the 7th October and the 27th October 2023 Israeli commanders and politicians would have studied at how they had reacted and operated in the past. Then changed their Standard Operating procedure (SOP) and decide to conduct an operation against the terrorist group differently, catching Hamas and others off guard. This would have been the beginning of the end for Hamas. Hamas were confident in the knowledge of what they undertaken, that confidence must have shrunk when the IDF started their ground offensive in the Gaza Strip but not to the plan they had envisaged. From that point on Israel started one of the objectives that it stated after the brutal and barbaric murder of its citizens on the 7th October 2023. The dismantling and elimination of the terrorist group known as Hamas.
Marches and Rallies
The war sparked a huge response by people around the globe demonstrating focusing on different aspects relating to the conflict. Demands for a ceasefire, an end to the blockade, returning Israeli hostages, protesting against Israeli war crimes, and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Protests against Israeli action in Gaza were notably large across the Middle East and North Africa with support from Europe and the Far East.
The war continued.
The Temporary Ceasefire
Qatar mediated a temporary ceasefire between the warring factions which came into effect on the 24th November 2023. An agreement was reached that was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. after weeks of indirect negotiations. The deal provided for a four-day pause in fighting, a halt to air traffic over northern Gaza during certain hours of the day and over southern Gaza entirely. The release of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian prisoners, and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza. The truce ended an hour before it was scheduled to have done on the 30th November 2023 when the Israeli ‘Iron Dome’ missile defence system detected an incoming missile that had been launched from the Gaza Strip. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, "Hamas is the reason that the pause ended, because they refused to put on the list additional women and children that we know that they are holding and they're refusing to let go."
The war continued.
The Slow Decline of Hamas
The US, along with mediators Egypt and Qatar, had continued to push for a hostage release agreement that would be accompanied by a truce, with a Hamas delegation arriving in Cairo 8th February 2024 for negotiations. On the 9th February 2024 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the that peace proposal on the grounds that Hamas wanted bizarre demands. The peace proposal was rejected by Israel from Hamas, saying its demands were “delusional.” The terrorist group had proposed a truce plan that would see a four-and-a-half-month ceasefire during which hostages would be freed in three stages and which would lead to an end to the war. The Hamas proposal set out that Israeli troops would withdraw from the Gaza Strip leaving Hamas still intact and continue to rule in Gaza. They also wanted the release of 1,500 prisoners from Israeli jails, a third of whom were serving life sentences. It made other various demands of Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister stated that nothing short of total victory over the dismantling of Hamas and the return of the hostages would count. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said “Netanyahu’s comments are a form of political bravado, indicating his intention to pursue the conflict in the region.” Meaning Hamas had not got its own way. Prior to the Hamas offer Israel had offered Hamas a two month ‘pause’ in the conflict for the release of all hostages. But Qatar based Hamas leaders were aiming for a permanent ceasefire that would have left the organisation intact. In order to apply more pressure against the Israeli government by families of the hostages, Hamas’s armed wing spokesman Abu Obeida said in an audio message, “Losses amongst (Israeli hostages) have become many while other hostages live in extremely difficult conditions.” The spokesman went on, “We warned dozens of times about the dangers to which their hostages are being exposed. We didn’t want the situation to reach this stage, but (Israel’s) leadership ignored us.” he added, “For months, we tried to protect and care for the lives of these hostages, as it is our top humanitarian goal to liberate our own prisoners and to realize the legitimate rights of our people.” On the 18th February 2024 the Arab News wrote that the talks on a potential ceasefire deal in Gaza “have not been progressing as expected.”
The war continued.
The Demise of Hamas
Hamas are losing. They are now fighting to keep what little power they have. Their proposition of the later state’s ceasefire proves that they are on the ropes. By requesting the release of terrorist’s held in Israeli prisons, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip is a sign of desperation. They need a permanent ceasefire to survive, and quickly. Israel is holding its ground knowing that it’s now a determination battle to see who gives in first. Israel will never surrender what they have achieved. They are dismantling Hamas piece by piece and those other terrorist groups that stand with them, Hamas knows this and is now trying to salvage what it can. This is where the hostages come into play. Hamas knows that Netanyahu is under immense pressure on the home front by families whose loved ones are still in captivity and Hamas is using this home front pressure to create what little advantage they have. The Israeli government is more than aware of this. Unless the hostages, dead or alive, are returned then the Hamas terrorists are under pressure to give in to the Israelis by surrendering all the hostages and yielding. By attempting to ‘negotiate’ under their terms for a return of those illegally held, they hope to keep some sort of hold in the Gaza Strip. This will not happen as Israel has vowed to destroy the Hamas terrorist network. Remember Hamas has promised that it will do the same in the future. Israel has promised that this cannot and will not occur. Those who want the peace between the two cannot guarantee that it will never happen again. Should Israel withdrawal under the Hamas demands it would mean that Hamas would have the capability to return and conduct the same operation as they did on the 7th October 2023. With Israel disagreeing to Hamas’s peace proposal and accusing Israel of committing genocide proves that they are losing the battle, contrary to what the Iranian government claims. Iran is still stating that Israel is committing genocide, wrongfully, as stated in the IJC Hague trial on the 26th January 2024 where it was stated that there is only a ‘plausible’ possibility that Israel was committing the act of genocide. It’s a political style of blackmail. Currently the Israeli Army is preparing to send in the ground army to fight the remaining four Hamas battalions held up in the southern Palestinian city of Rafah. With 60 to 70% of Hamas’s fighting force decimated the remainder will have to be destroyed. Yahya Sinwar the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip is now fighting for his life, his reputation and survival.
Human Shields
The Times of Israel reported on the 8th January 2024 that the Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar the leader of the Gaza Strip and the brain behind the savage and brutal attack on Israel on the 7th October 2023 had gone a step further. He is thought to be in hiding and surrounded by Israeli hostages in Rafah. The captives are been held in order to protect him by using them as human shields. An Israeli news outlet reported that Sinwar spoke to hostages shortly after they were illegally abducted. Sinwar told the group, “Hello, I am Yahya Sinwar. You are the most protected here. Nothing will happen to you.” A hostage who was present recounted the incident to a family and also briefed security officials, who confirmed the story. There are beliefs that approximately 132 hostages out of the 240 taken are still being held by Hamas and other terrorist groups. Not all are thought to be alive but Israel has always defined those who have been kidnapped and are either dead or alive in captivity as a hostage until they are returned back to Israel. It is thought of the 136 that Hamas is holding 29 are dead. Hamas are threatening the future of the hostages by stating if the Israel forces advance into Rafah, it would “blow up” the Qatari and Egyptian-mediated talks. On the 11th February 2024 Hamas’ armed-wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said, “Israeli strikes on the Gaza strip over the past 96 hours have killed two Israeli hostages and seriously injured eight others.”
Israeli Special Forces rescued two hostages from captivity in Rafah Gaza in the early hours of 11th February 2024. This is a typical ‘carrot and stick’ ploy. Leave the Gaza Strip and save the hostages or fight on and they die.
Destroying the Hamas Leadership
One method of ensuring an organisation cannot function is to remove the central leaders, the decision makers and the main organisers, it’s called ‘decapitating of the leadership’. Sometimes the method of decapitation and decapitating a group’s hierarchal leadership can work effectively at best but on the other hand it may be counterproductive. But by removing those who believe that they are untouchable leads others to doubt their own safety and moral which effects its followers leading to a demoralised group. The Israeli government is a follower of the policy decapitation, to remove those in power of a terrorist organisation. Hamas is just one group. After the butchery by Hamas’s operatives on the 7th October 2023 during the unprovoked attack, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar reportedly said on the 4th December 2023 that Israel will hunt down Hamas in Lebanon, Turkiye (Turkey) and Qatar even if it takes years. He said, “this our Munich.” Referring to the Israeli response in 1972 when the terrorist group Black September attacked the Israeli Olympic team in Munich, Germany. Israeli athletes were taken hostage at the athletes’ village. Within 24 hours, eleven Israelis, five Palestinians and a German policeman were dead after a rescue effort erupted into gunfire. The Israeli response to the murders of the Israeli athletes was to put a specialised group together to track down and kill those responsible. The operation was known as “Operation Wrath of God.” Israel put a covert operation in place using its security agency, Mossad, to assassinate individuals who had been directly or indirectly involved in the massacre of the Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Israel begins to Keep its promise.
On the 2nd January 2023 Hamas deputy secretary-general Saleh al-Arouri and seven others from the Hamas military wing Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades were killed in Beirut, Lebanon. Al-Arouri was a hardliner who over the past couple of years participated in coordination meetings involving Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at their “joint war room” in Beirut. Two others of the seven that were killed were leading Al-Qassam commanders. The US had a $5 million bounty on Saleh al-Arouri and designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) in 2015. On the 8th January 2024 Hassan Akasha was eliminated in Beit Jinn, an area under Syrian government control close to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights. Israel claimed that Akasha was a central figure responsible for rockets fired by Hamas from Syrian territory toward Israel in recent weeks. “Since the beginning of the war, Akasha directed Hamas terrorist cells which fired rockets from Syria toward Israeli territory.” Three senior members of the Hamas police in Rafah were killed on the 10th February 2024 as a result of an airstrike on their vehicle in the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood, west of Rafah, Gaza Strip. Those killed were the director of investigations Ahmed Eliakubi, his deputy Iman Rantisi, and Ibrahim Shatt. Eliakubi. All were responsible for the security provisions for senior Hamas leaders in the Rafah district. More deaths of those who conspired in the 7th October 2023 are likely to be targeted and eliminated.  
Demise and Disruption
It is estimated that Hamas Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades has between 30,000 – 40,000 fighters although some believe these figures are exaggerated. According to the Times of Israel on the 17th February 2024  the Israeli military has estimated that it has killed about 11,000 Hamas fighters in Gaza since the war began along with more than 1,000 during the 7th October 2023 attack, amounting to about 30% of the group's total fighting force. According to the Al-Arabiya News the number of Palestinians arrested since the 7th October 2024 had reached 7,000 leading to a further decimation of the terrorist group. Israeli numbers are far lower. According to the IDF in a report written in the Jerusalem Post on the 12th February 2024 the total number of IDF servicemen and women to lose their lives since the start of the Israel-Hamas War to 566 (These numbers may also include those murdered by Hamas on the 7th October 2023). The Times of Israel on the 13th February 2024 wrote that the IDF had lost 232 soldiers since the start of the ground offensive against Hamas which commenced on the 27th October 2023. The same newspaper on the 4th December 2023 claimed that 274 IDF soldiers had been killed on the 7th October 2023 by Hamas. Taking into account the dates between the two reports and reporting errors the IDF have lost a very small fraction of those Hamas terrorists killed by the IDF. Communications are difficult with Hamas relying on ‘runners’ as the Hamas communications network has been disrupted. Hamas leaders are reportedly communicating using handwritten notes carried by runners. The terror group is said to have employed aging landline phone network since 2009 to keep conversations hidden from Israeli eavesdropping, but war damage has forced Hamas to use lower-tech methods, which also includes communicating with Hamas political and military leaders along with others outside of the Gaza Strip. The Iran-backed – South Africa imitative at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), (the highest legal justice court in the world), to bring an immediate end to the war by claiming that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians was heard on the 11th and 12th of January 2024. The court ruled against the Iran backed – South Africa case that Israel was conducting a genocide approach to the Palestinians on the 26th January 2024. The result failed to force Israel into an immediate cessation of hostilities meaning that the war continued.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Propaganda
On the 2nd January 2024 the Tehran Times was quoted as saying that, “one of the (Israeli) regime's oldest and most decorated units, the 13th Golani Brigades, was pulled out from the fighting, mainly in northern Gaza, after more than 72 of its troops were killed in combat.” It went on to say, “the resistance fighters have been able to completely or partially destroy 71 military vehicles.” More disinformation followed, “the al-Qassam Brigades announced that its resistance fighters were able, in the space of 48 hours, to target 26 Israeli military vehicles. The number of Israeli military vehicles that the Palestinian resistance has partially or completely destroyed has reached around 1,000.” The Tehran Times was the only news outlet to carry these figures. The 5th February 2024 Tasnim News Agency stated, “Dozens of Israeli military vehicles were destroyed by Al-Qassam Brigades in the past few days, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said. Al-Qassam Brigades made the announcement through a statement by its spokesman, Abu Obaida. The Brigades said its fighters have destroyed as many as 43 Israeli military vehicles, including tanks, partially or completely over the course of the last few days.” According to Abu Obaida (the spokesperson for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamist Palestinian political and military organization Hamas) the Palestinian fighters also killed dozens of Israeli forces during 17 military operations across the besieged territory, Press TV reported. The regime's fatalities included 15 troops, who were killed at point-blank range, and an officer and a soldier, who were taken out by Palestinians' sniper fire. A number of Israeli forces were also killed in an explosion targeting the entrance of a tunnel. As part of their achievements, the brigades managed to seize four Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles and fire a volley of rockets at the city of Tel Aviv. The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian in a Fars News Agency article on the 13th February 2024 quoted that Israel has achieved nothing from more than four months of aggression against the Gaza Strip but murder and destruction, therefor the regime (Israel) was ‘forced’ to hold political talks with the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas. In a meeting with officials from different Palestinian groups in Syria’s Damascus on 11th February 2024, Amir Abdollahian stated that Israel totally crumbled after Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, and “if it were not for the US all-out support for the Zionist regime, the collapse would have been completely visible.” The top diplomat added many believe that Tel Aviv and Washington “have gained none of their declared goals since the beginning of the war on Gaza and that they are now forced to hold political talks with Hamas, whom they called for its demise”.
Only those news outlets run by the government of Tehran reported these reports.
Conclusion
The Islamic Republic of Iran paints a picture of victory over Israel and the United States with the reporting of false news and propaganda. Although there is world pressure to bring about an end to the conflict in the Gaza Strip it is not from Hamas or Iran who are on the losing side of the war with Israel. Iran has used South Africa and propaganda in order to attempt to save face for one of its proxy/resistance armies that is being beaten not just on the battle front but in the eyes of the world. Iranian credibility is at stake here. But let’s be quite clear. Hamas may have pulled the trigger against Israel but it was the Islamic Republic of Iran who supplied the bullets. Not only has Hamas lost ground in the Gaza Strip they have currently lost over at least two thirds of their fighting force with countless others captured and some the leaders of the group being targeted. Those of Hamas that are left are in a small piece of real estate in Rafah were the final major battle against the group will take place. In the arena that Hamas had declared its battleground declines, the desperation and its survival instinct will begin to show meaning their actions will become frantic. Time for Hamas and others involved in the conflict is running out for a ceasefire or truce. All that Hamas has left is the Israeli hostages. Here is the carrot and stick for Hamas; Kill the hostages and they will all be eliminated, allow them to be released and surrender, then they may have a chance of survival. Israel has seen what was behind them they now see what is in front of them. Currently the war continues.
 
Paul Ashley