Esmail Qaani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, told Iranian news organization IRNA this week that Hamas planned and executed the October 7 attacks on southern Israel without Iranian help.
IRNA (Islamic Republic News Agency) is funded and controlled by the Iranian government.
Qaani reportedly commented at a commemoration of “martyr” Hossein Pourjafari that “resistance” groups across the Middle East each have their own independent and individual structures. “Resistance groups have grown step by step, and today, all the elements of the resistance front at their regional level make their own decisions and judgments.”
Iran funds numerous proxies in the region including Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis. All of these groups have launched regular attacks on Israeli military and civilian targets since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
According to the US state-run news and radio network, Voice of America, Major General Pourjafari was a close associate of Qassem Soleimani and was instrumental in the formation of the IRGC’s intelligence wing.
“'Palestinian resistance began its work with its own preparation and the plan it had set,” Qaani said.
"Everything they did was beautifully planned and executed"
“Due to the extensive crimes committed by the Zionist regime against the Muslim people of Palestine, they themselves took action,” he added. “Everything they did was beautifully planned and executed.”
The IRGC commander then turned his remarks to the Israeli government.
“You assassinated martyr Razi Mousavi because you couldn't achieve anything on the battlefield of Gaza, and Iran won't be drawn into your schemes,” IRNA reported the senior IRGC commander as saying. “What achievements have the Zionist regime and America had from the beginning of the war until now? Their skill lies only in killing innocent women and children.”
Sayyed Reza Mousavi was a senior IRGC commander killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in the Damascus area.
Following Mousavi’s death, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said Israel would pay a price for the incident.
Qaani also addressed the United States, stating that if the US continued with its activities in Iraq, the Iraqi "resistance" would respond.