LOS ANGELES.–Hamas propaganda broke new ground today for absurdity when the Gaza-based terrorist group blamed Iran’s support of Palestine resistance for recent attacks on Ukraine. Hamas said Iran was “paying a price” for supporting Palestine resistance for its longstanding battle with the Jewish State. Hamas was founded and chartered in 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin with only one purpose in mind: Destroying Israel. Founded in 1987, Hamas was routinely used by Palestinian Liberation Organization [PLO] founder Yasser Arafat as his military wing, launching waves of terrorist attacks on Israel. Hamas earned its reputation for suicide bombing inside Israel, killing mass civilians whenever it slipped Israeli security. Hamas has been armed-and-funded by Iran, largely playing into Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomenei’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, actually having nothing to do with Israel.
Yet over the years, Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei exploited Sunni Arabs around the Middle East by supporting Palestine Liberation with radical groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel attacked Iran for its advanced nuclear enrichment activities posing an existential threat to Israel should Iran develop its first A-bomb. No one knows Iran’s breakout time to a bomb but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it could be a few months. Netanyahu, of course, speculates because he doesn’t know whether or not Iran even has a nuclear weapons program. Iran has denied it has any intent of developing an A-bomb despite the prodigious amount of 60% uranium currently generated from Iran’s advanced centrifuges. Netanyahu cannot get beyond the Ayatollah’s past and current threats on Israel’s existence. But Netanyahu can’t really assess the real threat.
Whatever Iran does with its enriched Uranium, it’s clear the Ayatollah uses enriched uranium as a way to keeping the U.S. and Israel off his back. Just like A-bombs give countries deterrence or “mutually assure destruction,” the Ayatollah uses his uranium stockpile to bedevil the U.S. and Israel. Whether that translates into an active A-bomb program is anyone’s guess. Striking Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities, Netanyahu decided he could no longer take the risk. But it’s entirely conceivable that Ayatollah only uses enriched uranium as a deterrent without an active bomb-making program. While that sound unrealistic, it’s the same thing Saddam Hussen once did keeping his alleged weapons of mass destruction [WMD] as a deterrent for countries like the United States. When the Bush-43 found no WMD after the Iraq War, it confirmed that Saddam was bluffing.
More than likely, Ayatollah Khamenei has been bluffing his way through his own deterrence using uranium enrichment to keep his enemies at bay. “Iran is today paying the price for its steadfast positions in support of Palestine and its resistance, and its adherence to its independent national decision,” Hamas said in a statement today. Well, there’s no doubt that Netyanyahu sees Iran as supplying cash-and-arms to Hamas, but, when push came to shove, when Hamas asked Ayatollah to defend Gaza, he said you’re on your own. So, Hamas fantasizes about the undying support it gets from Iran. But Iran wanted nothing to do with its Oct. 7. 2023 massacre of 1,200 Israelis, taking 251 hostages. No question that Ayatollah likes to fight Iran’s battles through proxies but he has a real problem on his hands. Israel is forcing Iran to defend itself against Israeli’s bombing campaign.
Saying he would “destroy Israel” today, Ayatollah gives Netanyahu the green light to go after his mullah regime. With missiles and drones still flying at Tel Aviv, Netanyahu must decide whether the takes the fight to Ayatollah’s Tehran headquarters. Hamas Spokesman Abu Ubaida said he would stand with Iran’s fight against Israel, knowing it was all symbolic. Most of Hamas’s terrorist infrastructure and weapons capability have been neutralized by Israel over the last year-and-a-half. “The Zionist enemy is completely deluded if it thinks that these treacherous strikes can undermine th fronts of resistance or stabilize the pillars of this fragile entity in the region,” Abu Ubaida said. Ubaida knows the most of Hamas’s leadership and terrorist infrastructure has been dismantled by Israel. Hamas can do nothing now to defend Tehran from any future attacks.
Hamas can only live in dreams-and-fantasies about destroying Israel, only a vague wish list while it’s watched its terrorist infrastructure dismantled. Netanyahu didn’t attack Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites because of Ayatollah’s support of Hamas. Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear infrastructure because it’s seen as an existential threat to the Jewish State. Hamas gives itself way too much credit for its Oct. 7, 2023 ambush that’s cost Hamas its power-and-control over the Gaza Strip. Hamas looted the Gaza Strip to enrich its select leadership since it took over Gaza from the Palestinian Authority by force June 14, 2007. Since then, Hamas plundered Gaza’s resources largely from generous donations from oil-rich Gulf States. No one in the Arab world trusts Hamas to run the Gaza Strip now that they’ve been decimated. Hamas only sees Iran as an extension of itself.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
