Self-produced rocket which hit Rishon Lezion building
Photo: Avi Moalem
General Mohammad Ali Jafari
Photo: AP
Iran says supplied Hamas with missile 'technology'
Revolutionary Guards commander admits Tehran shared knowledge with Gaza terror organization on how to produce long-range missiles, one of which hit apartment building in central Israel on Tuesday
The commander of Iran's
Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said Wednesday that Tehran did not supply Hamas
with Fajr-5 missiles, but admitted that the Islamic Republic did supply the Gaza terror organization with "technology" for the self-production of these missiles.
So far, Iran has denied giving Hamas such aid.
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Speaking at a military conference, Jafari said: "Because of the siege we cannot help them with Fajr-5 missiles, and so we provided them with technology and their production was rapid."
Hamas refers to its self-produced missile as M-75.
Jafari added that Iran was in favor of a ceasefire, but one "with power for the people in Gaza."
Israel Defense Forces officials estimated that the missile which hit an apartment building in the central city of Rishon Lezion on Tuesday was self-produced by Hamas, and was not the Fajr-5 missile, which has a 75-kilometer range and was fired to the Tel Aviv area during Operation Pillar of Defense.
Apartments on the top floors of the six-story building sustained serious damage, and two people were lightly injured.
'Palestinians don't need speeches'
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani also admitted that the Iranians gave the Palestinians "financial and military aid."
The Fars news agency quoted Larijani as saying, "We proudly declare that we supported the Palestinian people and Hamas, and we proudly declare that we stood by the Palestinian people in the most difficult situations."
He slammed Arab countries for "holding meetings," and said that "the Palestinians don't need speeches."
Larijani did not elaborate on the nature of the military aid Iran gave Hamas, but it is known that before the start of the popular uprising in Syria in March 2011, Iran had transferred large sums of money to Hamas to fund its terrorist activity in the Gaza Strip.
Due to the fact that the Hamas leadership failed to back Syrian President Bashar Assad, Iran's ally in the region, that support was stopped and Hamas began receiving funding from Qatari emir, who visited the Gaza Strip last month and gave the Palestinian organization $400 million.
The weapon smuggling route from Tehran to the Gaza Strip is said to have begun at the port of Bandar Abbas in south Iran, where missiles were uploaded on ships and sent to Sudan via ports in Yemen and Somalia. An arms factory in Khartoum, in which missiles were likely produced for the Gaza Strip, was bombed recently.
The weapon deliveries would then be transported through Egypt to Sinai, and from there – through smuggling tunnels – into the Strip.
According to recent reports, Iran had also sent experts to the Gaza Strip to teach terror organizations how to operate the missile launchers.
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