IRGC Aerospace Force And Missile Unit Commander Hajizadeh: 'All The Missile Might You See In Gaza... Was Created With Iran's Support… And This Effort Has Continued Around The Clock For Years'

In the past few years, Iranian regime officials have been boasting that Iran built up the military capabilities of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) that enable them to target Israel's strategic depth. Iranian officials and commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) praised the military aid extended by Iran to the Palestinians resistance organizations in the past and present – especially the transfer of tens of thousands of Fajr-5 missiles – which has enabled them to build up the advanced and independent ballistic missile capabilities that they employed against Israel in the previous rounds of fighting and are employing now as well.

The following are some of their statements:

IRGC Aerospace Force And Missile Unit Commander Hajizadeh: " Today [The Palestinians] Are Equipped With Precision Missiles" 

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force and Missile Unit, said on January 2, 2021, the first anniversary of the killing of IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani: "According to the [Iranian Supreme] Leader's order, Iran supports everyone on the front line against the Zionist regime. Gaza and Lebanon are on this battle front, and all the missile might you see in Gaza and Lebanon was created with Iran's support.

"We have taught our allies and comrades on the resistance front how to make fishhooks instead of [giving them] fish or fishing [for them], and now they have the capability and technology [to do this themselves]. In Palestine, they are now using missiles instead of stones, and this caused fear among all the Zionist regime officials, because today the might of the resistance axis is no longer what it was 10 years ago.

"The Zionist regime stands at a crossroad of fire, from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and other Islamic states. If in the past the strength of our friends was limited to stones and rockets, today they are equipped with precision missiles and many of them have these technologies.

"When the Leader said, 'If Israel makes a mistake, we will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa to dust,' it was a universal order, and we had to create this might, and this effort has continued around the clock for years."[1]

In 2014, Hajizadeh gave an interview that was published in a special magazine called "The Sejjil Protest" – for the Sejjil surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2000 kilometers. The magazine was issued on the occasion of the death of the father of Iran's missile program, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, and to mark the 30th anniversary of the missile capability of the IRGC. In the interview, Hajizadeh discussed the assistance and guidance that the missile branch of the IRGC was providing to pro-Iran organizations in the Middle East, such as Hizbullah and the Palestinian resistance organizations. He said: "Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Palestinian resistance are very strong with regard to missiles, and now the [Iranian] missiles have become the most commonly [used by] them, and have gained special status."[2]

Fars News Agency: The IRGC Qods Force Sent Missile Components To Gaza Via Sudan, Egypt, And The Tunnels

On January 26, 2020, the Fars news agency published a review of the IRGC Qods Force's involvement in military operations in the Gaza Strip. It stated: "In the 2008 Gaza war, Hamas responded to the Zionist regime using missiles in its possession. Military observers wondered how Hamas had obtained these missiles, and from where. The Qods Force strengthened its relationship with the resistance organizations such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, in accordance with [its] support for the aspirations of the Palestinians. Because the Qods Force foresaw the Zionist regime's aggression, it engaged in boosting its military capability and the [supply of] ammunition to these organizations. Overall, this aid took the form of sending various missile components to the Gaza Strip. The Qods Force carried out this operation via Sudan and Egypt, and conveyed the missiles to the Palestinians in the last stage via the tunnels dug from Sinai to Gaza.

"This process was accelerated later on, particularly during the 2012 Gaza war. In this 2012 war, Iran's transfer of the advanced Fajr-5 missile to the Palestinians was officially made public. The main element responsible for this type of support was the Qods Force."[3]

Iranian Supreme National Security Committee Secretary-General Ali Shamkhani: "Precision Missiles Are In The Strong Hands Of The Resistance Fighters In Gaza"

Ali Shamkhani, secretary general of Iran's National Security Committee, said at a January 29, 2019 national conference on space technology and its uses at the University of Science and Technology in Tehran: "There is no greater disgrace for the Zionist regime that claims scientific superiority... than the fact that beneath its feet hundreds of kilometers of tunnels have been excavated and that precision missiles are in the strong hands of the resistance fighters in Gaza and Lebanon [and will be used] to respond with hellfire to any possible foolishness  [by the Zionists]."[4]

Hossein Sheikholeslam, Advisor To Foreign Minister: "The Resistance In Gaza Targeted Netanyahu's Palace With Missiles Created In Iran"

Hossein Sheikholeslam, advisor to Iran's foreign minister, said on April 4, 2018: "In the 2012 war, the resistance in Gaza targeted the palace of Netanyahu with missiles created by Iran. Because of this, the war lasted [only] eight days. We know that the resistance chose missiles as its strategy, and that the Iron Dome and any anti-missile theory were ineffective. This anti-missile defense system was built to aim at 10 missiles simultaneously. [But] if we double the number of missiles, this system no longer works. Launching missiles is cheap, but [implementing] the anti-missile system is very expensive. For this reason, we have the upper hand, and it does not seem like the Zionist regime can even think about war."[5]

Iranian IRGC Missile Unit Commanders In 2014: We've Developed 2,000-km Range Missiles And Equipped Hizbullah With 300 Km-Range Missiles

The following are excerpts from a 2014 MEMRI report, Iranian IRGC Missile Unit Commanders: We've Developed 2,000-km Range Missiles And Equipped Hizbullah With 300-km Range Missiles; Fars News Agency: Israel's Illusions About Its Natural Gas Fields Will Be Buried In The Mediterranean, regarding the Iranian aid to the Palestinian organizations.[6]

IRGC Commander Ali Jafari: "The Entire Area Of The Occupied Territories [Israel] Is Within Range Of The Missiles Of The Resistance"

On November 24, IRGC commander Ali Jafari said at a conference at Shahid Modares University: "Today, the entire area of the occupied territories [Israel] is within range of the missiles of the resistance - meaning the fall of the Zionist regime. Of course, the matter does not end here, and certainly the final liberation [of Palestine] will come about."[7]

IRGC Air Force Deputy Commander: Hizbullah And The Palestinian Resistance Have The Capability To Attack Anywhere In the Occupied Territories

In a November 12, 2014 Fars interview, Hajizadeh's deputy Mousavi said: "The policy of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] with regard to supporting the resistance forces and the resistance front gives them the capability to build and manufacture the products by themselves... From the outset, the idea was that we would teach them manufacturing capability. [This] strategy has advanced with regard to missiles.

"The Zionist regime tasted the bitterness of missile strikes in the 2006 Lebanon war, the 22-day war [i.e. the 2008 Gaza war], the eight-day war [November 2012] and the 51-day war [July-August 2014]. The main founder of this move was [Hassan Tehrani] Moghaddam, who helped and supported the relevant industries so that both Hizbullah and the Palestinians would, in a short time, have the required capability to manufacture and operate the systems...

"As far as the range of the missiles is concerned, [the resistance organizations] can today attack with the missiles in their possession any target in the occupied territories [Israel], south or north. According to statements, these organizations have a secret capability for extensive missile campaigns to the level of the Fateh missiles [with a range of 250-300 km]..."[8]

Missile Unit Official: Iran Liaised Among Hizbullah, Hamas, And Islamic Jihad In The West Bank And Gaza - And Armed Them With Missiles

In a Tasnim interview published November 29, 2014, a commander of the IRGC missile unit, Ahmad Sayyed Hosseini, said: "Our officials liaised between Hizbullah and Hamas, as well as between Hizbullah and the West Bank and Gaza – most of them there are Islamic Jihad and Hamas members. That is how those organizations were armed and trained by Hizbullah, and received indirect support from Iran. Some of them even came to Iran for training, and they very gradually equipped themselves [with missiles]. The Palestinian resistance has repeatedly announced that it attained its [missile] capabilities thanks to the efforts of the father of Iran's missile [program, Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam], who armed them and guided them, bringing them to their current situation of supplying their own needs in their steadfastness against the Israeli regime."[9]

Secretary-General Of Committee For Support For The Palestinian Intifada: Israel Has Both Nuclear Weapons And Ballistic Missiles, So Our Most Important Strategy For Creating A Balance Of Terror Is Our Missiles

In a November 30, 2014 interview, Hossein Sheikholeslam, secretary-general of the Tehran-based Committee for Support for the Palestinian Intifada and an advisor to Majlis speaker Ali Larijani, said: "Our main enemy [Israel] is equipped with nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, and therefore our most important strategy in dealing with it is these missiles, which allow us to create a balance of terror in light of possible aggression by the enemy towards Iran... We hope that the missile strategy that has become established, in Hizbullah in Lebanon and in Gaza, will also spread to the West Bank in the near future...

"Iran's top-notch missile capabilities are a strong dam against the Western strategy that is aimed at sowing chaos in the region in order to provide security for the Zionist regime. Iran's missile capabilities have several aspects, one of which is the rockets that have proven their operational worth in Lebanon and Gaza. [Another is]  Iran's [successful] ballistic missile tests and satellite launches... We control the whole of the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Sea of Oman, and also have full control of the line for transferring energy, and of the warships and bases of the arrogance [the U.S.]. We are nearly invulnerable to possible attacks."[10]

Iranian Officials In 2013: Iran Transferred Fajr-5 Missiles To Gaza, Which Were Fired At Israel

The following are excerpts from a 2013 MEMRI report, Iranian Officials: Iran Transferred Fajr-5 Missiles To Gaza, Which Were Fired At Israel, regarding the transfer of missiles to the Palestinian resistance organizations in Gaza, especially Fajr-5 missiles, with a range of up to 80 km, which were used in the 2012 Gaza war.[11]

Khamenei Advisor Velayati: Our Fajr-5 Sent Three Million Israelis To Bomb Shelters

In an April 16, 2013 speech to public officials in Khuzestan, southern Iran, Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for international affairs, said: "[Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader] Ramadan 'Abdallah [Shalah] said to me: 'We want to strike Tel Aviv with Fajr-5 missiles,' [but] one of the revolutionaries in North Africa said: 'You can strike any place you want but not Tel Aviv.' But we did it, and three million Zionists ran to bomb shelters in fear."[12]

In a February 8 speech in Qom, Velayati made similar statements: "We saw how the Palestinians managed to drag three million Israelis to bomb shelters and to target Tel Aviv with the extremely simple [Fajr] missiles given to them by Iran."[13]

Khamenei's Representative In The IRGC: Iran Gave Fajr-5 Missiles To The Palestinians

In a February 11, 2013 speech marking Revolution Day, in Kermanshah, western Iran, Ali Saeedi, Khamenei's representative in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated: "What solved Gaza's problem are the Fajr-5 missiles that Iran gave as a gift [to the Palestinians]."[14]

Majlis Member: Iran Sent 50,000 Missiles To Gaza

At a November 2012 Basij conference in Mashhad, Majlis member Javad Karimi, a former IRGC official, said: "We sent the besieged Gaza 50,000 missiles and thousands of anti-tank rockets, because if we do not defend [Gaza], we will suffer casualties in the streets of Mashhad."[15] He added: "Launching Fajr-5 missiles at the center of Tel Aviv attests to a major victory in the conflict over Palestine in favor of the Iranian nation, and allowed Iran to once again prove its strength to the world. These 50,000 Fajr missiles show the crucial role Iran played in Gaza's victory."[16]

Kayhan: The Resistance's Launch Of Fajr-5 Missiles Proves That Iran Arms Shi'ites As Well As Sunnis

On November 17, 2012, the daily Kayhan, which is close to Khamenei, claimed: "The launch of missiles like the Fajr-5 [at Israel] by 'the Islamic resistance' [in Gaza] shows that Iran supports the Islamic resistance front and completely disregards the artificial conflict between Shi'ites and Sunnis."[17]

Majlis Official: We Provided The Palestinians With The Weapons They Required

At an April 21, 2013 meeting in Damascus with representatives from the 14 Palestinian resistance factions, Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Chairman Ala Al-Din Boroujerdi said: "We were unafraid to say that we provided the Palestinian factions [in Gaza] with the weapons they required."[18]

A report by the Iranian broadcast authority (IRIB) noted specifically that Boroujerdi was referring to Fajr-5 missiles.[19]

Launch of a Fajr-5 missile (Source: Mashregh, Iran, November 18, 2012)

Iranian Website: Reports On Supplying Fajr-5 To The Palestinians Could Spell Trouble For Regime

The Iranian website Asr-e Iran criticized Iranian media reports that Iran supplied Hamas with Fajr-5 missiles. It said that these reports could spell legal and political trouble for the regime and could be used as evidence in lawsuits against Hamas, Lebanon, and Iran in Western courts: "There are already dozens of cases against Iran in courts in the U.S., Europe, and other Western countries, some of which are at the stage of delivering a verdict and of sentencing Iran to pay tens and sometimes even hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to survivors of incidents like a bombings in Palestine and Lebanon. In most cases, the excuse for these verdicts is Iran's alliance with, support for, and arming of organizations such as Hizbullah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestine. Therefore, even if Iran did indeed give Fajr-5 missiles to Hamas, under current circumstances when the regime is not confirming this, there is no need for media attention..."[20]