Will new US sanctions affect Iran’s support for Hamas?
While some believe new US sanctions will affect Iran’s economy and subsequently its financial support for Palestinian factions, others say this support is atop Iran’s priorities and won't stop.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on May 8 and the new sanctions imposed on Iran on May 10 have raised questions about their impact on Iran’s military and financial support for Palestinian factions, specifically Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
Iran resumed support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad in May 2017. This support had been suspended at the end of 2015 as the two movements opted for impartiality in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Reuters on Jan. 2 cited Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, as saying in reference to the Iranian support, “In recent months, investment in the Palestinian arena has also been growing out of a desire to influence it — with an increase in the (annual) funding in the Gaza Strip for (militant groups) Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to $100 million.”
The Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported May 25, 2016, that Iran gives the Islamic Jihad an annual sum of $70 million.
