debkafile Exclusive: Iran extends its sponsorship of terrorists to Hamas, promising training facilities for Palestinians – on top of generous suppo

This week’s Tehran visit by a Hamas delegation led by politburo chief Khaled Meshaal ushered in an era of close military collaboration between the Islamic republic and the Palestinian terrorists, according to debkafile‘s military sources.
Earlier this year DEBKA-Net-Weekly‘s counter-terror sources uncovered Iran’s support in military training, logistical support, weapons and money for the terrorists fighting US forces in Iraq under Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
It was the subject of US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad’s accusation at a news conference in Baghdad Monday, Feb. 20.
We reported earlier that Iranian agents in Iraq were:
1. Passing money and arms to Sunni guerillas in Iraq and choosing their Iraqi and US targets.
2. Running training camps for Zarqawi’s men.
3. Offering al Qaeda combat personnel three-week holidays at special rest and recuperation centers in Iran.
4. Providing hospital care in Iran for injured Iraqi Sunni insurgents and al Qaeda terrorists.
Ambassador Khalilzad said Monday Washington does not “want Iranian interference in Iraq, providing arms and training the militias and forces which are hostile to this new Iraq.” While Iraq and Iran maintained good relations, he warned “Iran has another policy as well, which is to work with the militias and extremist groups and provide training and weapons, direct or indirect.”
He criticized Tehran`s demand for British forces to i withdraw immediately from the southern city of Basra.
Tehran’s hostility to Washington is unabashed. So too is its hostility to the Jewish state. Israel should therefore expect the worst. While Iranian officials talk big about making up the future Hamas government’s shortfall from an international aid cutoff, the money is not nearly on stream. According to debkafile‘s Iranian sources, Hamas leaders in Tehran played hard to get; they balked at putting themselves entirely in Iran’s power or letting the Palestinian Authority become an Iranian dependency or outpost. However, Meshaal and party welcomed any assistance on offer for building a Hamas-controlled military force, available also to support any Tehran action against Israel, whether direct attacks or terrorism modeled on the Iraqi guerrilla-terrorist insurgency.
The Hamas delegation and Iranian leaders came to an agreement for Hamas military missions to be invited to Tehran and given all the formal honors of official Palestinian Authority delegations. The Islamic republic will also make training camps available for Hamas terrorists as well as weapons and military aid.

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