IRGC commander Soleimani: Iran Will Always Be Outside the Temple Walls (Revelation 11)

IRGC commander Soleimani to Hamas: Iran will never abandon Palestine

Prior to his death in a U.S. strike in Iraq, Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani sent a letter to Izz ad-Din al-Qassam head Muhammad Deif emphasizing Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause.

(May 27, 2020 / MEMRI) Prior to his death in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January, Iranian Quds Force Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani wrote a letter to Muhammad Deif, the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, promising him that Iran would never abandon Palestine, “the pearl of the Islamic world.”

In the letter, published on the the website of the Al-Mayadeen television channel, the Iranian commander conveyed his greetings to Hamas’s fighters and to the Palestinian people as a whole, and promised them that Iran would not abandon them under any circumstances. He added that “the death knell of the invading Zionists will soon be heard,” and expressed hope to die as a martyr for the sake of Palestine.

The letter is further evidence of the close relations between Iran, which calls for the annihilation of Israel, and Hamas, and in particular of the ties between Soleimani and Deif.

It should be noted that Hamas officials have recently made many statements in praise of the Iranian regime and its ties with their movement. On May 20, for instance, in a speech on the occasion of Quds Day—a day of solidarity with Jerusalem and the Palestinians marked by Iran on the last Friday of Ramadan—Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, said that “Iran has never hesitated to support the resistance and assist it financially, militarily and technologically.”

Haniyeh’s deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, said in an interview with the Al-Mayadeen channel that “the relations between Hamas and Iran are strong,” and that “Iran has given Hamas and the resistance movements all the support and weapons they need.”

He revealed that during the 2008-09 Israel-Gaza war, Soleimani had been present in Hamas’s military operations room in Damascus, and noted that Soleimani’s successor, Esmail Ghaani, was “maintaining the coordination and assistance to the Palestinian resistance. Hamas’s representative in Iran, Khaled al-Qadoumi, said in an interview with a Hamas-affiliated website that “via its ties with Iran, Hamas strives to establish that the Zionist enemy is the common enemy of the entire Arab and Islamic nation.”

The following is a translation of Soleimani’s letter to Deif, as posted on the Al-Mayadeen website:

“My dear brother, the great jihad fighter, living martyr and brave resistance fighter, general commander of the Martyr Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, [Muhammad] Abu Khaled Deif, may God protect and strengthen you …

“[I convey my] heartfelt greetings to, and deep longing for, the battle-ready jihad fighters of the purest [battle]front, for which millions of hearts weep with yearning. May God’s mercy and will be with the courageous Palestinian people, who carry deep sorrow and suppressed pain in their hearts due to their many wounds, in the face of the oppressive siege and the enemies’ barbaric attack [carried out] in plain sight of the hundreds of millions of Muslims [around the world].

“Greetings [also] to the jihad and resistance fighter [Hamas political bureau head Ismail] Haniyeh and to his loyal supporters who declare from Gaza their steadfastness and call for jihad, out of faith and with their eyes yearning for the dawning of victory.

“Rest assured that, no matter how much the pressures and the siege upon it increase, Islamic Iran will not leave Palestine—the pearl of the Islamic world, the Muslims’ first direction of prayer and the place of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascent to heaven—alone [in the fray].

“Defending Palestine [is] our honor and glory, and we will not relinquish this religious duty for any of the pleasures and frivolities of this world.

“The friends and supporters of Palestine are our friends and supporters, and its enemies are our enemies. This has been our policy in the past, and so it shall remain.

“The defense of Palestine is the real proof that one is defending Islam and the Koran; one who hears your call and does not come to your aid is not a Muslim.

“With God’s permission and help, the dawn of victory will soon come, and its refreshing breezes will stir the soul, as the death knell of the invading Zionists will be heard.”

“We hope for the day on which God will permit us to stand by your side and lead us to [realize] our perpetual hope to die as martyrs for the sake of Palestine.

“Your brother, Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani.”