The chaos arising from the war between Israel and Hamas has resulted in a chorus of conflicting voices on the international stage. Various entities are going into full spin mode, creating narratives to mold public opinion.

This has especially been true of outlets propagandizing on behalf of problematic regimes. Earlier this week, an Iranian news site published an op-ed issuing a warning to regime officials not to contribute to the belief that Tehran was involved in Hamas’ surprise attack, which sparked the current conflict.

An October 11, 2023 op-ed in the Iranian website Asr-e Iran called on regime officials, hinting at the ideological extremists among them, to rein in their feelings and not to speak out regarding Iran's connection to the "Hamas-Israel conflict" for fear of harming Iranian national interests. The article recommended that they not deviate from the official line set out by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei the previous day, on October 10, according to which Iran is proud of the Palestinian resistance that carried out the attack on Israel and encourages it to continue, but that Iran was not involved in it.

The op-ed, titled "Beware Of A Own Goal In The Hamas-Israel Conflict," explained that Israel sought to show that it was Iran that carried out the acts so as to mobilize global public opinion against it, and in order to cover up its own failures in dealing with Hamas. It stated that it is best if some of the regime officials set aside their feelings during the conflict between Hamas and Israel, do not deviate from the official regime viewpoint that Iranian hands are not involved in it, and do not construct any theories for themselves, since Israel wants this war to reach Tehran

It should be noted that in its October 10, 2023 editorial, the regime mouthpiece Kayhan took pride in Iran’s involvement in the attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas against Israel. It attributed the planning of the attack to IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, prior to his January 2020 assassination in a U.S. airstrike, and it said that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had said in an August 2023 speech that a big victory was on the horizon.

Iran’s government denies any involvement in the planning or execution of the surprise attack. But there are a plethora of reasons to disbelieve that. The op-ed was published just before reports that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah met with elite Iranian officials earlier this year to prepare for a more expansive showdown with Israel.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah met with a group of Iranian officials earlier this year according to a New York Times exclusive report. The revelation underscores the circumstances surrounding the current war between Israel and Hamas, which ignited after the terrorist group that governs the Gaza Strip launched a surprise attack against the Jewish nation.

Iran has a long history of training and arming proxy militia groups in the region, from Gaza to Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. It supports Hamas militarily and has helped it design and produce a domestic missile and rocket system to match the capabilities and material available in Gaza — an impoverished, densely populated coastal strip that has been blockaded by Israel and Egypt for the past 16 years.

And over the past year, there have been signs that Iran and its proxies were preparing to take a more aggressive approach toward Israel.

Gen. Esmail Ghaani, who is in charge of supervising Iran’s network of proxy militias as head of the country’s paramilitary Quds Force, repeatedly traveled to Lebanon for covert sessions with leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, a Shiite Lebanese militia that Iran also supports.

Iran has been the primary backer of Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorist organizations. The regime has been instrumental in empowering these groups to conduct their operations in the Middle East and the rest of the world.

Recently, a high-profile Hezbollah leader declared that the organization is “prepared and ready” to go to war with Israel. The group has already engaged in skirmishes with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) near the Lebanese border with Israel. This has raised concerns that Israel might be placed in a position in which it is fighting a two-front war.

The fact that an Iranian news outlet would publicly caution officials to toe the line and parrot talking points from the Supreme Leader of the regime shows just how badly they wish to conceal their involvement in the hostilities. Still, this won’t prevent more details from emerging showing the extent to which the regime is responsible for igniting this bloody conflict.