Oct 13 V7N- Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York rejected claims linking Tehran to Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on October 7. In a statement reported by the official news agency IRNA, the Iranian mission responded to inquiries from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal regarding Israel's assertion that it had access to minutes from Hamas' secret meetings, which allegedly indicated that Tehran was informed about the group's plans for the attack.

The Iranian mission emphasized that Hamas officials based in Doha had stated they had no prior knowledge of the operation, asserting that only Hamas' military wing in Gaza was responsible for planning and executing the attack. They dismissed any claims attempting to connect the operation to Iran or Hezbollah as invalid and based on fabricated documents.

The New York Times reported that the seized minutes from Hamas' meetings provided detailed insights into the planning of the October 7 attack. These documents reportedly included discussions led by Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' political bureau chief, who sought to persuade allies like Iran and Hezbollah to support the operation or engage in a broader conflict with Israel.

On October 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented assault on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,200 people and the abduction of approximately 250 hostages. In response, the Israeli military has been conducting extensive operations in Gaza. Iranian officials have consistently maintained that while they support Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas, they had no prior knowledge of the attack and were not involved in its execution.

END/WD/RH