People carry Palestinian flags, Iranian flags and Hezbollah flags at Tehran’s Revolution Square during an anti-Israel rally on Oct. 18.
Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
LONDON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a warning this week that the United States would act “swiftly and decisively” if it came under attack from Iran or its proxies in the Middle East, amid growing concerns of the Israel-Hamas war spreading.
His warning came as the White House accused Iran of facilitating attacks on U.S. military bases in Syria and Iraq in the last week. Questions about the extent of Iran’s involvement in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel have shone a spotlight on Iranian influence in the Middle East and raised major concerns about the prospect of a wider war engulfing the region.
The U.S. has said there is no direct evidence that Iran was involved in the Hamas attack against Israel. However, analysts and regional experts say there are evident links between Iran and the attacks carried out by Hamas.
“Hamas and Iran have a long-standing but not always easy relationship,” says Kim Ghattas, author of Black Wave, a book about the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. “Hamas gets funding and weapons from Iran. So whether or not it approved of the Oct. 7 attack, Iran is complicit.”
Ali Barakeh, a senior Hamas official based in Lebanon, told NPR earlier this month that while “Iran knows that Hamas fights Israel and offers us support, which we do not deny … we don’t take orders from anyone.”
What is the link between Iran and Hamas?
Hamas, a Sunni Islamist movement, is an autonomous Palestinian group with military and political wings. Hamas has ruled more than 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza…
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