Report: Rouhani requests removal of ‘Death to Israel’ from Iranian missiles
Jerusalem Post/April 25/16
Iranian media reported Monday that President Hassan Rouhani requested to remove the words “Death to Israel” from the ballistic missiles belonging to his country. According to the report, Rouhani sent a letter to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei requesting to remove the print from the rockets. Rouhani’s demand came after Khamenei himself used the line “Death to Israel,” a slogan that was written on the missiles used in the last drills run by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Rouhani condemned the slogan at the time and has now requested from the Supreme Leader that the slogan be removed from all remaining missiles. Experts on Iranian affairs explained that Rouhani fully understands the influence of the Israel lobby on decisions related to Israel in the European Union and the United States and is concerned that the slogan “Death to Israel” that is written on the missiles will work against the agenda he is trying to promote in his speeches, one of peace and stability in the Middle East. In March, the Revolutionary Guard fired two Qadr missiles from northern Iran which hit targets in the southeast of the country 1,400 kms (870 miles) away, Iranian agencies said. The nearest point in Iran is around 1,000 km from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. “The reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2000 km is to be able to hit our enemy the Zionist regime from a safe distance,” Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the ISNA agency at the time. Reuters contributed to this report.
Report: Iran looks to deploy Hamas in the battle to liberate Mosul from ISIS
Jerusalem Post/April 25/16
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards plan to deploy Hamas forces in the battle for Iraq’s second biggest city, Mosul, which has been controlled by ISIS since June 2014, the London-based Arab daily a-Sharq al-Awsat reported Sunday. According to the report, Hamas forces would fight for Mosul’s liberation alongside Hezbollah fighters and the Shi’ite Houthi militias which are currently struggling in Yemen against the Sunni coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia. Located in northern Iraq, Mosul is a cultural heritage asset for Iran, due to the slew of holy Shi’ite sites located in the city, such as al-Qubba al-Husseniya mosque, which was demolished by ISIS in June 2014. According to the report, Iran also intends to use Hamas in order to liberate the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, which has been under Kurdish control since June, and destabilize the Kurdistan region. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are planning to deploy forces affiliated with Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis in Kirkuk, from which they would gradually advance toward Kurdistan. Iran strives to destabilize Iraqi Kurdistan because it views the Kurdistan Regional Government, headed by President Masood Barzani, as a grave threat to its clout in its neighbor, Iraq. A Peshmerga commander told a-Sharq al-Awsat that in the past few days, Hezbollah forces joined the local Shi’ite Popular Mobilization Units in south Kirkuk carrying heavy weapons and missiles. He explained that Iran aims at capturing Mosul and Kirkuk in order to open a route to smuggle weapons and soldiers to Syria and Lebanon. Iran’s reported plans regarding Hamas are ambitious and would have to overcome the Palestinian organization’s position of neutrality in regard to the regional conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia.