IRAN STEPS UP TRAINING OF HAMAS

'Iran Steps Up Training of Hamas,' Timing Just a Coincidence? (NYSun)
"Israeli officials said up to several hundred Hamas operatives have recently left the Gaza Strip for Iran. They said the operatives were undergoing several weeks of military training by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," MENL reports.

"The Hamas terrorists enter [Egypt's] Sinai Peninsula and then make their way to Syria and then Iran," an official said. "We have been detecting an increase in the flow of Hamas operatives leaving for Iran over the last two months."

Hamas leaders have discussed expanding cooperation with Iran. In November, Palestinian Authority Interior Minister Said Siyam said Iran agreed to bolster training and funding to security forces aligned with Hamas.

It looks like October's planning has now been put into action.

Hamas very much values the Iranian support. As the Hamas prime minister said, they don't need to make peace with Israel as they have Iranian support. There are also reports that the Iranians have been trying to set up secret bases in the West Bank and Gaza.

It's unlikely to be a coincidence that Iran is increasing its training of Hamas just as international pressure on Tehran's nuclear program is increasing . Iran uses Hamas and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a way to detract attention from its nuclear program (and it does the same with Hezbollah.)

As we've written:

The Hamas-Iran link is especially interesting given that Hamas is a Sunni organization, while the mullahs in Tehran are Shiites. This goes to show that radical Islamist Sunnis and Shiites are more than happy to cooperate when Israel or other infidels are the target.

But why are the mullahs so keen to support Hamas? Not out of Muslim loyalty -- as we noted they're from different sects that view the other as infidels. Sunnis and Shiites are blowing each other up in Iraq, for instance. Rather, being able to control Hamas ensures that Iran can unleash a distraction from its nuclear program and other wrong-doings whenever it is needed. Hezbollah is used in the same way too.

When pressure was growing on Iran's nuclear program and the mullahs had to respond to an offer of incentives -- Hezbollah kidnapped Israeli soldiers. The world's focus then turned to Lebanon. Iran was off the hook.

With Israel no longer involved in Lebanon, Iran is doing its best to ensure Hamas doesn't let up in its war against Israel. This helps maintain the world's partial distraction from Iran's nuclear program. That's why Iran blocked the release of Shalit and that's why Iran is ensuring Hamas has a steady flow of cash.

This is why dealing with the rogue regime in Iran won't only end our fears about their nuclear program and liberate the Iranian people. It will also cut a major source of support from terrorist groups across the Middle East. From terrorists in Iraq, to Hezbollah in Lebanon, to Hamas -- Iran is using them. But at the moment we're falling for Iran's games: We're letting them distract us from their nuclear program by focusing on Hezbollah and Hamas.