Exclusive! Hamas unexpectedly asks Iran NOT to target its neighbors, including Turkey and Qatar. But what are the broader ramifications and possible hidden implications of this unexpected request?
By The IDF Club
In a move that surprised many, Hamas, the Iranian-proxy terrorist organization that still controls Gaza (barely), asked their sponsors to refrain from attacking their neighbors. These nearby nations include the Gulf Arab states, such as Qatar, and also Turkey. But why would Hamas make such a request? And are there any hidden implications to this unexpected move?
IDF Sergeant-Major (Res.) Y.M. Ben-Caro commented on the matter, and his perspective perhaps sheds some light on this unusual phenomenon.
Ben-Caro noted that there is a power struggle in the Middle East between three major religious-ethnic elements: Sunni Moslems (especially Arabs in the Gulf States, and to a degree Turkey); Shia Moslems (Iran and their proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen); and the Jewish State of Israel.
These three entities are in a constant struggle for regional supremacy. This struggle expresses itself in a variety of ways, ranging from socio-economic to flat-out war.
In recent years, especially under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump, the Sunni Moslems (especially Gulf States like the UAE) have signed onto the Abraham Accords. While much of these peace agreements focus on joint commercial benefit, there are elements of political and even military cooperation.
These Abraham Accords are bad news for Iran. Now, if Iran seeks to expand its “Persian Empire” over the rest of the Middle East, they must face down both the “Zionist war machine of Israel” (as Ben-Caro facetiously defined the IDF) and also the Sunni-dominated Arab Gulf states.
This is not to say that Israel and the Arab Gulf States are now best friends in any capacity. Indeed, relations are often highly strained at best. But the Abraham Accords did, in fact, lay the framework for a joint cooperation between Jewish and Sunni forces against the burgeoning Shia empire.
“In the three-way bar room brawl of the Middle East,” Y.M. Ben-Caro says, “President Trump’s Abraham Accords created a ‘2 against 1’ dynamic.”
Accordingly, Iran has long sought to disrupt the alliances created by the Abraham Accords. And, ironically, under the constant bombardment of the Israel Air Force and United States Air Force, the Iranian regime has adopted the tactic of another of its long-time arch-rivals and enemies:
Saddam Hussein, the former dictator of Iraq
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 and sparked the First Gulf War. A coalition of 34 nations — led by the United States — deployed military forces to push Saddam’s troops back into Iraq. In a desperate political move, Saddam Hussein fired 42 SCUD missiles at Israel… one of the only nations in the region that had remained neutral up to that point.
Why?
Simple. Saddam Hussein was hoping that the Sunni Arab Gulf States that were cooperating with the United States, et al, would refuse to fight alongside “the Jews” of Israel. And that the long-standing animosity between the Arab States and their Jewish neighbors would ignite and the Gulf States (that were crucial for America’s success against Saddam Hussein) would exit the military coalition.
Accordingly, the American government begged Israel to avoid retaliating and entering the war. Instead, American and allied air forces stepped up their campaigns to destroy the SCUD missile launchers in western Iraq.
Now, fast forward 35 years later… Iran is in a desperate situation with Israel and the United States working hand-in-hand to bomb the terrorist-sponsoring Iranian regime into oblivion. But once again the United States needs its Gulf State partners (if only for access to local military bases, ports, and other infrastructure).
So Iran — apparently inspired by the so-called “logic” of Saddam Hussein — has responded with attacks against both Israel AND the Arab Gulf States, even if the latter have done little to nothing against Iran directly in this conflict.
The purpose is simple: Iran is testing the willingness of Israeli Jew and Gulf Arab to fight alongside one another. Historically — up to this point — that has never happened. But after several weeks of bombing both Israel and the Gulf States, and political and military cooperation (under the umbrella of the United States) has survived and continues to play an important role in the current war against Iran.
So how does all of this relate to Hamas? Sgt. Maj. Ben-Caro explains that Hamas is “unique” as a terror proxy in that they receive funding, weapons, and other support from both Shia Iran AND Sunni nations (especially Qatar and Turkey). While other terror proxies like Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen are almost exclusively supported by Iran, Hamas has the distinction of receiving support from rivaling entities.
“Apparently,” Ben-Caro comments, “hating Jews is more important to certain key players in the Moslem / Arab world than the tensions of the Sunni-Shia rivalry.”
In any case, while Hamas normally enjoys “double” funding and support, they are now finding themselves in an enormously difficult position. If they support Iran, then they defy their other “masters”, Qatar and Turkey. Even more problematic is that President Donald J. Trump is floating the concept of a “multi-national force” to enter Gaza and disarm Hamas (by force if necessary). And this “multi-national force” could presumably include certain Sunni Moslem nations that are presently under Iranian attack.
In other words, if Hamas supports Iran over the Gulf States, there is a strong possibility that these latter Arab nations will withdraw their support and funding. And they might even agree to a forcible disarmament of Hamas in Gaza, since the Palestinian Arab terror organization betrayed them to support their enemies, the Iranians.
Perhaps more pertinently, it is most unusual for Hamas to take a posture of “giving instructions” to Iran. The implication is here is that Hamas perceives that Iran is no longer “on top” (and certainly not their handlers). Indeed, some unconfirmed reports have indicated that Hamas has not heard from key IRGC officers since the beginning of the war in late February of 2026. And more than that, Ben-Caro purports, there is potentially a glaring message between the lines here.
Hamas is anticipating that the Iranian regime will fall, and therefore they must abandon them and become extra cozy with their other sponsors who are being attacked by Iran, namely Qatar and Turkey.
Time will tell how the rest of Operation: Roaring Lion and Operation: Epic Fury play out against Iran. But it seems apparent to Sgt. Maj. Y.M. Ben-Caro that Hamas is not particularly optimistic about the outcome for Iran. And when Hamas — a terror organization that has notoriously failed to see the “writing on the wall” since their heinous attacks on Israel on October 7th, 2023 despite a vicious, years-long IDF onslaught — begins to sniff the aroma of impending doom…
“Well, in that case,” Ben-Caro states, “I am inferring that the situation is very dire for Iran.”
