This confirms my initial thoughts, and other persons who follow Iran’s regional terror and strategy.  And this will put pressure on Israel to attack Iran directly.  “Iran Helped Plot Attack on Israel Over Several Weeks,” Wall Street Journal, 10-8-23.  “Leading the effort … has been Ismail Qaani, the leader of the IRGC’s international military arm, the Quds Force.  …  Representatives of these groups [Hamas, Hezbollah, etc.] have met with Quds Force leaders at least biweekly in Lebanon since August to discuss this weekend’s attack on Israel and what happens next, they said. Qaani has attended some of those meetings along with Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah, Islamic Jihad leader al-Nakhalah, and Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’s military chief, the militant-group members said.  Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian attended at least two of the meetings, they said. ”  And the motivation?  “Building on peace deals with Egypt and Jordan, expanding Israeli ties with Gulf Arab states could create a chain of American allies linking three key choke points of global trade—the Suez Canal, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Bab Al Mandeb connecting the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea, said Hussein Ibish, senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.  “That’s very bad news for Iran,” Ibish said. “If they could do this, the strategic map changes dramatically to Iran’s detriment.””

“Hamas attack bears hallmarks of Iranian involvement, former U.S. officials say,” NBC, 10-8-23.  Key observations—“Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer who specialized in counterterrorism, the Middle East and South Asia, said on X that it will be critical for intelligence agencies to determine the precise role Iran played in the surprise assault. “The difference between ‘directing’ the attack and giving the actual green light” versus “‘coordinating’ may be difference between war with Iran or not,” he said. For decades, Iran has tried to counter technologically superior adversaries through guerrilla or low-tech methods, swarming warships with smaller speed boats, firing barrages of rockets, using drones and missiles to undercut opposing air forces and abducting foreign nationals, U.S. officials and analysts say. When one of Iran’s proxies, whether they are Shiite militias in Iraq, Houthi forces in Yemen or Hamas in Gaza, demonstrate a significant advance in military sophistication, it is usually a sign that Tehran has lent a helping hand, said Michael Knights of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “This was the case with the Houthi takeover of Yemen and with the Lebanese Hezbollah defense against Israel in 2006,” Knights said. Striking Israel simultaneously at a variety of locations with rockets, small guerrilla cells, kidnapping units and fast boats “reeks of Iranian training, weapons provision, probably Iranian intelligence,“ said Colin Clarke, a senior researcher at the Soufan Center, a nonprofit organization that focuses on global security. “This was a full-on assault from multiple entry points. I have to believe the Iranians are playing a role,” he said. A central question is how Hamas members were able to breach Israel’s fortified border with Gaza, which consists of a series of fences, security posts, regular patrols, sophisticated cameras and ground motion sensors. That Hamas militants were able to cross over with relative ease at multiple points on the border raises the possibility that the militants may have jammed the cameras and electronic sensors, depriving the Israelis of an early warning as the attack began, said Mark Montgomery, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral who recently visited the border area.”

Remember, Iran uses hostages for its foreign policy.  Hamas has learned this lesson well from Iran (supplier of training, funding, weapons, missiles), and now apparently has scores, including elderly, women, and children. Dastardly.  “Israelis feverishly search for relatives at rave attacked by Hamas,” I24, 10-8-23.

With all respect, Sec. Blinken has it wrong.  The $6 billion hostage exchange amount absolutely plays into the attack by Hamas against Israel.  Sec. Blinken tried to make the case that no dollars have been exchanged, therefore it is impossible for the $6B to have been used.  This is disingenuous.  First, the money is delayed future payment—it is assuredly coming, and can replace amounts already spent or being spent at present.  Second, it is encouragement/support for past bad acts.  Third, it emboldens terrorists to pay ransom (especially huge ransom).  So yes, in a very real sense the gift was given which compensates Iran for such acts as prepping Hamas for this attack.  And yes, in a very real sense we should remember the $6B was being negotiated as the attacks against Israel were being planned—and yes, Iran knew these attacks would happened (for example, the day prior, Hezbollah told the UN observers in southern Lebanon to stay on their base.  BTW, if this was money Iran could have unlocked on its own, it would have done so years ago.  Blinken’s saying no U.S. tax monies were involved masks the issue of appeasement.  “Blinken pushes back against GOP claims that Iran hostage deal funded Hamas attack,” CNN, 10-8-23.

“At least 130 Israelis held hostage in Gaza,” Politico, 10-8-23.

“The Iran-Gaza War,” WSJ, 10-8-23.  Precisely correct article.