IndiaTheNews Exclusive: Why does Iran hate Israel so much? What benefit is Iran getting from giving strength to Hamas?

This week in IndiaTheNews News Network’s special program Shaurya Path, we wanted to know from Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd.) why Iran is playing an active role in the Israel-Hamas conflict? We wanted to know what is the history of enmity between Iran and Israel? In response to this he said that Iran and Israel do not want to see each other today but such was the situation in the 70s. He said Iran had very good relations with Israel during the rule of the then Shah. At that time, Iran was also completely open and free socially like the Western countries, but after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the regime changed there imposed all kinds of restrictions on its citizens according to Islamic laws and after this, Iran gradually became like the Western countries. And kept moving away from European countries.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (retired) said that from the beginning, Iran has had a desire to become the leader of Islamic countries. For this, it kept trying every now and then to become a nuclear powered country but Israel and America never allowed this to happen. Sometimes Iran’s nuclear plants were destroyed and sometimes Iran’s nuclear scientists were murdered. He said that Iran avoids direct attacks on Israel but it openly gives strength to organizations that can fight Israel.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi Ji (Retd) said that there is no doubt that Tehran considers it a major victory that Hamas was able to deceive the Israeli intelligence agency and carry out such a large-scale operation. Iran does not hide its strong support for Hamas and has openly praised the attack on Israel. He said it appeared that as Israeli forces advance into Gaza, the war could reach a point where Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and other Tehran-backed militias in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen and elsewhere will be drawn directly into the war. Can get down. He said that if such a development takes place then America can also enter this fight.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that since its establishment in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has presented itself as a staunch ally of the Palestinian liberation movement. Many of the Islamist and leftist Iranian revolutionaries who overthrew the Shah took inspiration from Palestinian writers and fighters. During the 1960s and 1970s, some of these Iranians also received training in Palestinian guerrilla camps. Once they succeeded in taking over Iran, these Iranian revolutionaries began returning the favor. He handed over the Israeli embassy to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Within days of the revolutionaries taking power, Palestinian group leader Yasser Arafat was welcomed in Tehran. During the 1980s, Iran’s newly established Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps provided training to Lebanese Shia groups battling the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Additionally, as the Palestine Liberation Organization moved away from violence and toward diplomacy in the mid-1990s, Iran created a network of anti-Israel Islamic armed groups.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists became more capable with the help of Iran and faced the Israeli defense forces in a better way. With the help of Iran, Lebanon’s Hezbollah group increased its strength and finally succeeded in driving Israel out of southern Lebanon in 2000. Building on its success with Hezbollah in the early 1990s, Iran began supporting Hamas, the armed Palestinian organization which has controlled Gaza since 2007. Hamas, rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood, was founded in 1987 after the first Palestinian intifada and has received support not only from Shia Iran but also from Sunni countries such as Qatar. He said Hamas is actually a Sunni organization and has cracked down on Gaza’s small Shia population, oppressing Shia worshipers and shutting down Shia organizations.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that it is also a truth that Iranian leaders have shown practicality in building a network of their allies. Tehran has consistently ignored differences with Hamas, and this has paid off. Like its Lebanese counterpart, Hamas has become more capable over time due to Iranian aid and repeated military confrontations with Israel. By providing financial, military, and political support, Iran has contributed to advancing Hamas’s capabilities and its rapidly growing arsenal of rockets. These capabilities and weapons were seen together in the October 7 attack.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that Iran wants to achieve many of its goals through the current war in Gaza. Iran specifically wants its partners to inflict unbearable losses on Israel while preventing an Israeli victory in Gaza, thereby preventing Israeli forces from launching large-scale attacks on Palestinians again. Iran also believes that such an outcome could protect Palestinians against Israeli settlers by helping a victorious Hamas or similar terrorist group come to power in the West Bank.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that if the conflict escalates, the chances of Iran taking the final step towards becoming a nuclear power will increase. Iran already has the capability to make improvised weapons. According to US officials, Iran has enough fissile material to build a nuclear bomb within two weeks. If Israel or the US believe Tehran is about to build a bomb, they could respond by attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. He said many of Iran’s nuclear facilities are deep underground and difficult to destroy even with the most powerful conventional weapons. So to truly end Iran’s nuclear program, the US may have to launch a full-scale attack.

Brigadier Shri DS Tripathi (Retd) said that for Tehran, Israel’s war in Gaza has come at an opportune time. Iran has long relied on the Palestinian issue to compensate for its isolation as a Shia Persian country in a predominantly Sunni Arab region. Yet this strategy was less effective when Palestinians were not in the international spotlight. Tehran also believes that the war in Gaza could hide its internal repression. Last year, the streets of Berlin, London, Washington and other cities around the world were filled with people protesting the Islamic Republic’s violence against women. Now the same streets are occupied by people protesting against Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Additionally, Iranian officials and pro-government commentators are trying to capitalize on discontent by sharing videos and stories of a Lebanese female singer and an Arab American female Playboy star who have shown support for Hezbollah and Hamas on social media, he said. . He said Iran’s leaders are well aware that an extended conflict could lead to a direct attack on their country, which could risk weakening or destroying the Islamic Republic.