(NewsNation) — While violence rages on in Israel, a former U.S. national security adviser thinks Iran is to blame for the surprise attack over the weekend.
“This is an Iranian attack on Israel with Hamas as its very willing spear carriers,” John Bolton told “On Balance” host Leland Vittert.
Questions emerged Monday about Iran’s possible involvement in the attack against Israel. The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah saying Iranian security officials helped plot Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Saturday and gave the go-ahead for the assault at a meeting last Monday in Beirut. Hamas leaders told the outlet that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had coordinated with Hamas since August on attack plans.
A senior defense official tells NewsNation that Iran is in the picture and has provided support to Hamas for years, but the Biden administration doesn’t have specifics that corroborate the Wall Street Journal’s reporting at this time.
Bolton thinks the attack could not have been carried out without the direction of Iran and the Biden administration needs to state what he considers to be the obvious.
“The White House really needs to get a spine here and say what is obvious to anybody who knows the situation: This is entirely Iran’s doing and Iran is going to have to pay a price for it,” Bolton told Vittert.
Iran has reportedly denied involvement in the attack. Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, told The Associated Press the attack was planned by around a half dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza and that some of the group’s closest allies did not know about it in advance. Barakeh rejected reports that Iranian security officials assisted in planning the attack or greenlighted it.
Hamas launched the surprise attack on Israel over the weekend. Israel formally declared war Sunday. The war’s death toll has risen to nearly 1,600 on both sides. U.S. officials confirmed at least 11 Americans are among the dead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.