An October 11, 2023 op-ed in the Iranian website Asr-e Iran called on regime officials, hinting at the ideological extremists among them, to rein in their feelings and not to speak out regarding Iran's connection to the "Hamas-Israel conflict" for fear of harming Iranian national interests. The article recommended that they not deviate from the official line set out by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei the previous day, on October 10, according to which Iran is proud of the Palestinian resistance that carried out the attack on Israel and encourages it to continue, but that Iran was not involved in it.
The op-ed, titled "Beware Of A Own Goal In The Hamas-Israel Conflict," explained that Israel sought to show that it was Iran that carried out the acts so as to mobilize global public opinion against it, and in order to cover up its own failures in dealing with Hamas. It stated that it is best if some of the regime officials set aside their feelings during the conflict between Hamas and Israel, do not deviate from the official regime viewpoint that Iranian hands are not involved in it, and do not construct any theories for themselves, since Israel wants this war to reach Tehran.
It should be noted that in its October 10, 2023 editorial, the regime mouthpiece Kayhan took pride in Iran’s involvement in the attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas against Israel. It attributed the planning of the attack to IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, prior to his January 2020 assassination in a U.S. airstrike, and it said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had said in an August 2023 speech that a big victory was on the horizon (see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10857 - Iranian Regime Mouthpiece Kayhan: Iran Is The Mind And Hands Behind Hamas; Operation 'Al-Aqsa Flood' Was Planned, Orchestrated By Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani Before He Was Killed; Khamenei Hinted In August 2022, August 2023 At 'The Complete Conquest' Of Israel.)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani (Source: English.khamenei.ir, January 3, 2020)
The following is a translation of the article:
Asr-e Iran: "Beware Of An Own Goal In The Hamas-Israel Conflict"
"After Hamas struck Israel, the leaders of that [Israeli] regime are desperately seeking a partner of Hamas [in the attack], and think that they can kill two birds with one stone by dragging Iran's foot into the middle of this story.
"[Israel's] first blow [in these efforts to blame Iran] is to lower the pressure of public opinion regarding the weakness of Israeli intelligence and its inability to deal with Hamas. They [Israel] want to hint that Iran managed [to carry out the attack], not Hamas.
"The second blow will happen when [Israel] manages to mobilize the world against Iran - the same Iran that after the nuclear agreement succeeded in standing against global consensus, and even caused America to feel alone in several international forums. No one supports the U.S. against Iran.
"In the meantime, care must be taken by certain people not to make an own goal – the people who say anything that comes into their heads with no connection to the world's political reality.
"The Supreme Leader [Khamenei] clearly stated yesterday [October 10]: 'Those who say that the recent heroic [operation] is the fruit of the labor of a non-Palestinian [i.e. Iranian] are mistaken.' This means that Iran will not enter the game that Israel created.
"In recent days, the French president announced, "I am not considering direct Iranian involvement in the Hamas attack, since we have no official evidence of this.' This language says that [the Israelis] are looking for an excuse to create a dangerous game versus Iran.
"Under the current conditions, it is best that only the official elements in the country express an opinion about Palestine and Israel. These years, we have seen that several political and religious elements have caused the country to pay a price for their statements, and I hope that in this case they will prioritize the interests of the country over [their] feelings.
"A fierce media war against Iran has absolutely begun during this time. [The Israelis] are focusing all their attention on the platforms from which they have managed to gain something.
"During this time, we have suffered enough from the own goal by some of the [political] streams [in Iran]. The story of the attack on the Saudi Embassy [by an Iranian mob in 2016, following which Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran until 2023] is still not erased from our mind. The price that this mistaken decision has cost the state was irreparable. An example of this was the people who waited years to come to the House of God [i.e. pilgrimage to Mecca] and were prevented from doing so, and have perhaps left this world without actualizing their wish.
"It is better, at this sensitive time, for those who always flap their tongues to not deviate from the regime's official viewpoint, and to not construct theories for themselves.
"Israel wants the fire of the Hamas attack to reach the heart of the Middle East [i.e. Iran] and fortitude will help extinguish this flame. So please let us practice keeping quite at this time."[1]
[1] Asr-e Iran (Iran), October 11, 2023.
