By Pishtaz | 2023-10-23

Iranian leader Ali Khamenei was quick to praise Hamas for its bloody October 7 attack on Israel, but was equally swift to stress that Tehran had not participated in any part of its planning or execution.

Given Iran's long history of support for Hamas and its close ties with the militant group, however, many said they were skeptical about this pronouncement.

In a speech, Khamenei claimed the Hamas attack that has triggered a new war between Israel and the militant group "was the work of Palestinians themselves."

The Iranian regime uses the term "Hamas" and "Palestinians" interchangeably.

It is no secret that the Iranian regime supports Hamas in many ways. Tehran's hostility toward Tel Aviv is deep and well-documented -- hostility that began almost immediately after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Tehran's overtly hostile rhetoric

In June, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unveiled the hypersonic missile "Fattah" with great fanfare, saying that Khamenei himself had named the missile -- an Arabic word that means "To make victorious."

The billboard hailing the new missile said in Persian, Hebrew and Arabic, "400 seconds to Tel Aviv," in a clear threat to Israel, its intended target.

"With that kind of advertising and rhetoric, how could the West -- or really the world, for the matter, not accuse the Iranian regime of possibly being involved in the attack?" said an Iran-based author and university professor of Middle East affairs.

"Even if they had no role whatsoever, it would be natural to think they might, given the history of their ties with Hamas," he told al-Fassel affiliate outlet Pishtaz on the condition of anonymity.

While the IRGC's role in the recent attack is unclear and unproven as of yet, the IRGC and Khamenei have not kept their support for Hamas under wraps, said Ali Sajjadi, a US-based journalist focused on Iran affairs.

"The Iranian regime has openly supported Hamas for decades," he told Pishtaz. "Iran has been in the minority with that stance."

"The IRGC has provided Hamas with weapons, money and training over the years," he added. "I would not be surprised if we learn of some Iranian arms among the weaponry used by Hamas."

In an interview with Radio Farda on October 14, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said, "I don't know if Iran green-lighted Hamas's attack."

"But I have no doubt that Hamas would not have been able to carry out the operation without Iran's support," he added. "The group does not have the money, nor does it have the sufficient weapons or logistical facilities to do so."

Deep rooted Iran-Hamas ties

The Islamic Republic has had serious ties with Hamas since 1988, when the militant group opened an office in Tehran and announced that its "Islamic aspect of Palestine as an ideal" matches the Islamic Republic's.

Since then, Hamas leaders have repeatedly traveled to Iran and met with regime officials, including Khamenei, in Tehran.

Iranian officials have justified their support for Hamas by saying that the Islamic Republic's constitution encourages the regime to do so.

The constitution asks regime officials to "lay the groundwork for the continuation of the revolution inside and outside the country," particularly by "expanding relations with other Islamic movements."

Regime officials say support for regional militant groups is part of these constitutional efforts, which is why they have steadily supported Hamas over the years.

Iran's support for Hamas increased in 2005 with the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who espoused anti-Israel and antisemitic views. It increased even more after Qassem Soleimani took over the command of the IRGC Quds Force.

Upon his return from Tehran in November 2006, senior Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh said Iran had pledged to pay $250 million in aid to the Palestinians.

He also said Iran had agreed to pay the salaries of 100,000 government employees and fishermen who had lost their jobs.

Cash gifts to Hamas

The war in Syria caused a rift between Iran and Hamas when the militant group, unlike Iran, did not defend Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

After former Hamas official Khaled Mashaal left Syria, Hamas's political office in Syria was shut down by the Syrian regime in 2012.

Tehran and Hamas grew distant, especially toward the end of Mashaal's tenure.

Once Haniyeh came to power, however, the two sides' relations improved, with Soleimani publicly congratulating Haniyeh on his new political leadership position within Hamas in 2017.

A few months later, Soleimani stated that "all of the Islamic Republic's facilities [amenities] are at Hamas's disposal."

The Iranian regime reportedly allocated $110 million to Hamas each year for a period of time, although it is not possible to verify the aid or its timeline.

Quoting unnamed Israeli government sources, several reports in 2019 said Iran had increased its annual aid to Hamas from $110 million to $360 million.

Also in 2019, Hamas co-founder and leader Mahmoud al-Zahar expressed gratitude to Soleimani, noting that the late Quds Force commander had given a group of Hamas officials $22 million in cash during a 2019 trip to Tehran.