Iran’s Supreme Leader delivered a clear message to the head of Hamas when they met in Tehran in early November, according to three senior officials: You gave us no warning of your October 7 attack on Israel and we will not enter the war on your behalf.
According to a Haaretz report, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh that Iran, a longtime supporter of Hamas, would continue to back the group with moral and political support but would not directly intervene, citing anonymous Hamas and Iranian officials with knowledge of the discussions.
The supreme leader pressed Haniyeh to silence those voices within the Palestinian group, publicly calling for the Islamic Republic and its subordinate Hezbollah to enter the battle against Israel, a Hamas official told Reuters.
Hezbollah has already begun to engage in heavy clashes with Israel along the southern border of Lebanon, with strikes progressively reaching deeper into Lebanese territory. Iran-backed militias have targeted US forces in Syria and Iraq, while Yemen’s Houthis have been launching missiles and drones at Israel from over the Red Sea.
The report cited Mohanad Hage Ali, an expert on Hezbollah at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank in Beirut, who stated that the October 7 attack on Israel had left Hamas’ so-called Axis of Resistance partners facing tough decisions in confronting their Israeli enemy, which wields significantly stronger military power.
“When you wake up the bear with such an attack, it’s quite difficult for your allies to stand in the same position as you.”
The unfolding crisis marks the first time this alliance built by Iran over four decades — facing Israeli and American power in the Middle East — has simultaneously mobilized on various fronts.
