Iran Attack: Did Hamas get Iran nod to launch attack against Israel?

NEW DELHI: Rumours about the involvement of Iran in the attack on Israel are doing the rounds after a report claimed that Iran gave nod to attack on Israel, reported BBC.
In a report, the Wall Street Journal quoted unidentified members of the Lebanese rebel group Hizbollah and Hamas that Israel’s arch-nemesis Iran authorized the attack a week ago.
Denying the statement, Iran’s foreign ministry said, “The accusations linked to an Iranian role… are based on political reasons.”
Iran did not intervene “in the decision-making of other countries”, a spokesman added, reported BBC.

Contradicting the ministry’s statement, Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas spokesman said that Iran, which promised to “stand by the Palestinian fighters until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem,” provided the organization with direct support for the strike, reported BBC.
The US claims it has “not yet” discovered proof Iran was responsible for the strikes. However, Antony Blinken, secretary of state, did observe that “there is certainly a long relationship.”
Haim Tomer, a former senior official with Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence organization said, “I would say that it’s not too much to assume that Iran is involved.”
However, Tomer said that he found the claim of Iran’s involvement “a little bit cumbersome”.
“Yes, it’s true that Iran is the number one provider of equipment to Hamas,” he said, “and that they were training them in Syria and even, reportedly, in Iran.”
He further said, “Hamas was very much tuned to the inner conflict in Israel”.
“Iran sustains and supports every logistic and military aspect, but I think the decision was at least 75% an independent decision by the Hamas leadership,” he added.

Agreeing with Tomer, Raz Zimmt, an Iran expert at Tel Aviv University said on a soicial media post, “This is a Palestinian story.”
“Did Hamas use Iranian aid? Definitely, yes. Did Iran have an interest in this action? Yes. Does Hamas need Iranian permission to operate? No,” Zimmt added.
For many years, Tehran has been one of the key supporters of Hamas, giving it monetary aid as well as a huge supply of weapons, including rockets.
Israel has been attempting to block Iran’s supply channels to Gaza for years. These routes go through Sudan, Yemen, ships in the Red Sea, and Bedouin smugglers operating in the lawless Sinai Peninsula.