Expert: Iran has given Hamas $2 billion; Islamic Jihad gets $150m a year

Nourizadeh

The Director of the Center for Iranian Studies in London, Ali Nourizadeh, says that since Hamas' founding it has received more than two billion dollars of financial support from Iran, according to Raya News. At the same time Islamic Jihad receives between $100-$150 million dollars annually from Iran.

On the other hand, the PLO and the Palestinian Authority have not received a penny Since the Iranian revolution so far, but on the contrary, Iran has not paid half a million dollars from the proceeds of the "Palestine" sales pavilion at the Tehran International Fair.

Nourizadeh says that Hamas has received its aid through various sources; sometimes in cash when Hamas leaders visit Tehran and some through Hezbollah. Islamic Jihad receives it money via Hezbollah or from cash transfers from banks in Beirut or Malta.

He adds that "Iran has paid a lot to strengthen its relationship with Hamas to be used as a card but it did not succeed because [Hamas] has good relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Arab states and Iran is no longer the main source of funding Hamas, so Iran considers its investment in Hamas to be unsuccessful."

In terms of relationship between Iran and Islamic Jihad, Zadeh says that their fighters were trained in Iran and their weapons all come from Iran; Hezbollah played an important role in achieving this. On the other hand, no more than 500 Hamas fighters were trained by Iran.

There is now a new rapprochement between the PLO and Iran, as Fatah official Jibril Rajoub visited Iran after Abbas and Hassan Rouhani met in New York, according to Nourizadeh.