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The newspaper 'The Wall Street Journal' has published an exclusive that if confirmed could change the course of the recently erupted war between Israel and Hamas, putting the focus on Iran, one of the great historical enemies of Jerusalem. Iranian security officials helped plan the surprise Hamas attack and gave the green light for the attack at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed militant group.

The plans would have been carried out since August and would include the air, land and sea raids that formed the Hamas attack. Those meetings reportedly involved officers from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and were reportedly held in Beirut and attended by IRGC officers alongside representatives of four Iranian-backed militant groups, including Hamas.

This information has also been confirmed by a European official and an adviser to the Syrian government, reports 'TWSJ'.

For their part, U.S. officials say they have so far found no evidence of Tehran's involvement. This was confirmed in an interview with CNN by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. "We have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or is behind this particular attack, but there is certainly a long relationship," he said.

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And the affected party, Iran, also dissociates itself from having planned the attacks together with Hamas. A spokesman for Iran's mission to the United Nations said the Islamic Republic supported Gaza's actions but did not direct them.

"The decisions made by the Palestinian resistance are autonomous and unwaveringly aligned with the legitimate interests of the Palestinian people," the spokesman said. "We are not involved in Palestine's response, as it is taken solely by Palestine itself," he added.

A direct role for Iran would bring Tehran's protracted conflict with Israel out of the shadows, raising the risk of a wider Middle East conflict. Senior Israeli security officials have vowed to attack Iran's leaders if Tehran is found responsible for killing Israelis.

  • Israel
  • Hamas
  • Iran