Hamas issued a statement urging the Islamic Republic of Iran to refrain from striking neighboring Persian Gulf states while simultaneously affirming Tehran's right to defend itself against US and Israeli aggression.
On March 14, Hamas issued a statement appealing to the Islamic Republic to halt attacks on neighboring nations, specifically in the Persian Gulf. According to Iran International, a foreign-based opposition news channel, Hamas coupled this request with an affirmation of Iran's right to self-defense against the United States and Israel using all available means.
In a direct appeal to Tehran, Hamas stated: "While we affirm the right of the Islamic Republic to respond to this aggression with all available means and in accordance with international norms and laws, we ask our brothers in Iran to refrain from targeting neighboring countries." Breaking news aggregator خبرفوری جنگ🚨اخبارفوری امریکا فوری also highlighted that Hamas called on all countries in the region to cooperate to prevent further aggression.
The plea arrives in the wake of unprecedented US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian military assets and subsequent threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to target Middle Eastern energy infrastructure. DW Persian, the Farsi-language service of the German public broadcaster, contextualized the statement by reporting that the Islamic Republic has already targeted many countries in the region since the beginning of the US and Israeli war with Iran.
Both DW Persian and prominent anti-regime citizen journalism channel Vahid Online explicitly referred to Hamas as a terrorist group in their coverage. Furthermore, Vahid Online reported that Hamas concluded its statement by demanding the international community take immediate action to stop the ongoing war.
Farsi diaspora and opposition channels (Vahid Online, DW Persian) prominently use the unvarnished term 'terrorist group' to describe Hamas in their reporting, reflecting an editorial stance highly critical of the Islamic Republic's proxies. DW Persian makes a definitive factual claim that Iran has already been targeting regional countries since the outbreak of the war, providing context for why Hamas is making this specific request.