Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has denied Iran’s involvement in the Hamas’s shock weekend attack on Israel, instead praised what he called Israel’s “irreparable” military and intelligence defeat.
“We kiss the foreheads and arms of the resourceful and intelligent designers” of the attack, he said in his first televised speech since Palestinian gunmen launched a devastating cross-border assault from Gaza on Saturday.
But he added: “Those who say that the recent saga is the work of non-Palestinians have miscalculated.”
The comments were the Iranian government’s latest denial of involvement in the incursion.
On Monday, Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said that efforts to blame Tehran for the attack were a “political attempt to justify support for Israel.”
Reports suggest that members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard assisted Hamas in planning and executing the attacks, but the U.S. government has asserted that there is no concrete evidence of Iran’s involvement in Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel.
Meanwhile, Iran’s government celebrated the attack on Israel through fireworks and messages of congratulations, showing support for what they perceive as the “legitimate defense” of the Palestinian people.