From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Iranian envoy to UN says Tehran arming, training and ’empowering’ Palestinian terror groups
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations says Tehran is sending weapons, training and empowering Palestinian terror groups.
Asked about Iran’s support for proxy militias in the region, Amir Saeid Iravani tells NBC Nightly News, “In the case of Palestine, we’re sending arms, we’re training them and empowering them. But with the other parts of the region, the resistance parts in the region, we have some coordination, cooperation, consultation, and maybe some financing also.”
The Iranian envoy speculates that strikes by Tehran-backed militias throughout the region would stop if there is a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, noting that the Islamic Republic would support such a truce if it was lasting and allowed for the rehabilitation of the enclave. He says the hostage talks will succeed if “the other side” accepts Hamas’s conditions, which include a permanent ceasefire and a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
Iravani dismisses US allegations that Iran supplies Yemen’s Houthis with their advanced weaponry, insisting the rebel group has been acting independently with its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and does not take orders from Tehran.
The Times of Israel Community.