All eyes are on Iran after Hamas’ major offensive in Israel this weekend. If no proof is provided, the terrorist group benefited from astonishing material resources. Thus, “it is likely that there was aid provided to Hamas and cooperation,” said Emmanuel Macron during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Hamburg in northern Germany.
As it stands, “I have no comment to make on the direct involvement of Iran, of which we have no formal trace,” he added. “I will remain cautious on this point until we have stabilized completely secure intelligence elements,” he also stressed.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority, for his part denied on Tuesday any involvement of his country in the massive attack launched on Saturday by Hamas, while reaffirming Iranian support “for Palestine”.
“Financed, equipped, armed”
A senior American official indicated on Saturday that it was “too early to say” whether Iran was “directly involved” in the offensive launched by Hamas. However, he added that there was “no doubt” that Hamas was “financed, equipped and armed” among others by the Tehran regime.
“We condemn with great clarity all the countries which have welcomed the horrors perpetrated by Hamas, which is the case of Iran,” noted Emmanuel Macron. “It is clear that the public comments made by the Iranian authorities are unacceptable and correspond neither to our values nor to our interests,” he insisted.
The French president also denounced the “unbearable blackmail” exercised by Hamas, which threatened to execute Israeli hostages in response to the increasing number of strikes on the Gaza Strip.