The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) introduced a significant twist to the narrative surrounding the events of the al-Aqsa Flood Operation on Oct. 7 after its spokesman initially claimed the attack was a retaliatory act for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani.
Hamas quickly refuted the comments of spokesperson Ramezan Sharif, prompting the IRGC to later retract the statement.
Sharif stated that during the al-Aqsa Flood, more than 200 commanders and a total of 1,500 civilians were killed.
He stated that the attacks against Israel were in response to the killing of Soleimani, a former Quds Force commander, the mastermind behind Iran's foreign operations and regional strategy, who was assassinated in a US airstrike in Baghdad in early 2020.
Subsequently, the Revolutionary Guard's media outlets distributed a brief statement indicating a partial revision of the spokesperson's statements.
The statement quoted Sharif as saying the al-Aqsa Flood was an "entirely Palestinian operation."
The alteration was attributed to a "misunderstanding" of the spokesperson's earlier statements, as reported by the Tasnim agency.
Hamas swiftly rejected the spokesperson's statements, emphasizing that all of its actions are "in response to the presence of the occupation and its continued aggression against our people and our sanctities."
- "Miscalculations"
Previously, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei denied Iran's involvement in Hamas' attack, characterizing the accusations against Iran as rumors propagated by supporters of the Zionist entity and a "misguided calculation."
Hours before Khamenei's speech, the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied a report published by the Wall Street Journal, which claimed that IRGC senior officers were involved in planning Hamas' attack since August.
Tehran described the report as "politically motivated."
Sources from Hamas and Hezbollah said Iranian officials green-lit the attack on Israel in a meeting held days before the operation.
Khamenei's denial seemed to implicitly confirm a statement of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Oct. 8, suggesting there was evidence of Iran's involvement in the attack.
Following Khamenei's denial, most Iranian officials' positions revolved around denying Tehran's interference in the armed groups' decisions, namely Hamas.
Hours after Khamenei's speech, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian announced a new chapter for the "Resistance Axis," saying they may carry out "preemptive" measures in response to systematic Israeli attacks.
On Oct. 12, Amirabdollahian traveled to Iraq and discussed for the first time the possibility of the war expanding, saying nobody seeks Iran's "permission to open a new front" against Israel.
Two weeks later, the Wall Street Journal cited intelligence sources that about 500 members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad had received combat training weeks before the attack.
In mid-November, three senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Khamenei asked the political bureau chief of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, during his unannounced visit to Tehran to silence voices calling for Iranian and Hezbollah intervention in the war.
Sources quoted Khamenei as saying that Iran had not participated in the Oct. 7 attack and would not directly intervene in the conflict unless Israel or the US attacked it.
However, Iranian leaders wanted to use armed groups to launch missile and drone attacks on Israeli and US targets in the Middle East. Later, Iranian officials and Hamas denied the Reuters report.
Following the report, Iranian media outlets shared a message from the commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, addressing the commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif.
In it, he pledged that Iran and its allies would do "everything necessary in this historic battle."
- Iran Vows Retribution Against Israel
IRGC spokesman declared that Iran will not back down from confronting the Zionist entity and will pursue this path. He emphasized that the Armed Forces General Staff and the Supreme National Security Council supervise this mission.
Sharif accused Israel of attempting to transform the Gaza war into a conflict between Iran and the US, asserting that the Israelis sought to escalate conflict in the region due to their strategic failures.
The IRGC spokesperson said the assassination of Reza Mousavi was a response to Israel's "defeats" in the battle against Hamas.
"Iran's response will be a combination of a direct step and a step by the resistance front," he noted.
Highlighting Mousavi's extensive role in supporting the Resistance Axis for over 25 years, Sharif acknowledged his valuable experience in equipping the resistance and providing significant assistance to Iranian diplomacy in Syria and Lebanon.
Sharif also noted that while Iran has already taken revenge against Israel for previous assassinations, such actions are not allowed to be disclosed in the media.
IRGC Commander Hossein Salami affirmed that Mousavi had always been a steadfast supporter of the entire resistance front.
Iranian media broadcast that Mousavi's body was taken to Najaf, Iraq, for funeral rites ahead of transferring him to Tazgrish, north of Tehran, for his burial.
Iran's ambassador to Iraq, Mohammed al-Sadiq, told AFP that Mousavi's death was the latest of Israel's "enemy's list of crimes."
The Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Saeed Iravani, issued a stern warning to "Israel," affirming that his country holds legitimate and inherent rights based on international law and the United Nations Charter to provide a decisive response at the appropriate time.
Chief of Staff of Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Bagheri said the assassination of an IRGC commander in Syria was Israel's strategic mistake that won't go unpunished.
Earlier this month, Khamenei called for the disruption of ships heading to Israel and the interruption of its energy supplies.
Following Khamenei's speech, the Houthi group launched a series of attacks on ships in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandab Strait.
The US accused Iran of launching a drone attack on a vessel carrying chemical cargo linked to Israel and en route to India.
