Hamas & Hezbollah “Easily” Obtain Weapons Through Ukraine’s Black Market, Iran FM Boasts
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has issued some surprising remarks claiming that Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Gaza-based Hamas can procure more weapons anytime they want utilizing the thriving arms black market in Ukraine. He suggested this is already happening while addressing a conference in Doha Monday.
He went so far as to say these groups, which the US has listed as terror organizations, can “easily” and “without much effort” get whatever they need in Ukraine.
The unusual remarks seem by design a jab and provocation aimed at Washington and its Western allies which have poured billions of dollars in defense aid into Ukraine over the last two years. These same NATO countries also tend to be Israel’s biggest funders.
Joining in on trolling the US alliance, Russian state publications in English featured the Iranian top diplomat’s words:
“You see, in the past – I wish to be absolutely frank with you – we used to provide all kinds of support to Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad while taking into account [both] international law and the conditions of confronting the occupier (implying Israel – TASS),” Abdollahian said at the Doha Forum, when answering a question about Tehran’s support for these organizations.
That’s when he said: “If you ask me where they can obtain weapons, then one of the black markets where they can get them is Ukraine.” He said this as if suggesting that Tehran doesn’t need to offer as much support to the groups at this point, given the immense and ongoing arms proliferation in Eastern Europe.
Abdollahian continued to describe that “Very easily, without much effort they can get whatever [they need] in Ukraine,” He additionally said that if necessary, Hezbollah and Hamas currently “can produce the necessary weapons” on their own.
The words might also be timed to inject more controversy into US domestic politics as Republicans in Congress have thus far refused to sign off on Biden’s requested $106 billion in defense funds, primarily for the wars in Ukraine and Israel.
JUST IN: #Iran FM says Hezbollah & Hamas are procuring weapons from “black market”, specifically from Ukraine. “They can get anything from Ukraine.” He does not provide evidence. pic.twitter.com/RzxTfdQLvd
— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) December 11, 2023
Among prime GOP complaints of White House Ukraine policy has been the lack of accountability in terms of tracking weapons and US deliveries to Kiev. Even a Defense Department inspector general report has found that West-supplied weapons have gone to criminal gangs and war profiteers. Some reports have found weapons being proliferated outside the country. Ukraine remains ranked among the top most corrupt states in the world.
“We have fidelity for a short time, but when it enters the fog of war, we have almost zero,” one US intelligence official told CNN in April 2022. “It drops into a big black hole, and you have almost no sense of it at all after a short period of time.” So it is entirely likely that either Hamas or Hezbollah could at some point access such weapons which have gone to the black market in Europe. Very likely this is already a reality, consistent with Abdollahian’s words.
