Iran

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Iran Threatens to “Arm Palestinians” in Retaliation for Drone

On Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) threatened to “accelerate” its arming of Palestinians, apparently in response to a purported Israeli drone infiltrating its airspace over the weekend.

The Telegraph reports:

“We will accelerate the arming of the West Bank and we reserve the right to give any response,” said General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, commander of aerial forces of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, in a statement on their official website sepahnews.com.

The warning comes a day after the Guards said they had brought down an Israeli stealth drone above the Natanz uranium enrichment site in the centre of the country.

However, an aviation expert quoted by the Associated Press, Paul Eden, commented that Iran’s story of shooting down an Israeli drone “doesn’t ring true.”

At the end of July, an Iranian official threatened that “[a] new front must be opened from the West Bank, after it has been armed – especially with missiles.”

Iranian aid to Hamas has been evident in recent months, especially since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge. In the middle of July, Israel shot down a Hamas-launched, Iranian-designed drone. In addition to the material support Iran sent to Hamas, Iran cheered on rockets fired at Tel Aviv.

Earlier this year, Israel intercepted a shipment of Gaza-bound Iranian rockets via Syria. The intercepted shipment was believed to be “the tip of the iceberg” of Iran’s aid, which has been integral to restoring Hamas’ arsenal during periods of calm.

[Photo: The Israel Project / Flickr ]