Tehran- Mansour Haqiqatpour, former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and former assistant to General Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force, said that there is no fear for the Gaza tunnels, and that they will remain a nightmare for the occupation. Because whoever supervised its design took various possible “scenarios” into account.
In an exclusive interview with Manhattan Tribune Net, Bor revealed that the resistance axis planned with the Palestinians to build more than 400 kilometers of tunnels under a patch of land whose area did not exceed 40 square kilometers, stressing that the Palestinian side in the tunnels knows very well how to deal with all potential challenges.
Retired Brigadier General Mansoor Haqiqatpour previously worked as an advisor to the Presidency of the Iranian Parliament, and was a consistent member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in Parliament for several years.
In this dialogue, he talks about the course of developments in the Gaza battle, the impact of the Houthi-led ship war in the Red Sea, and clarifies his country’s position on forming any international coalition to ensure maritime navigation in the region.
The following is the text of the interview:
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How do you evaluate the course of events of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” so far, and which of its two sides achieved victory on the ground?
What is happening in Gaza is nothing but the resistance and bravery of a defenseless people who believe in their cause in the face of the global military arsenal, as we see that the allies of the “Zionist entity”, especially the United States, Britain and some members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), are rushing to provide their latest military armament to bring the Palestinian resistance to its knees. Which humiliated the occupation and its supporters, and has the upper hand in the ongoing battle.
We believe that despite the “Israeli entity”‘s continued killing of women and children and its persistence in targeting infrastructure to displace the population of the besieged Gaza Strip, the resistance still has the upper hand in the battle.
On the other hand, the “occupying entity” and its Western allies behind it, in turn, have the upper hand in violating human rights, committing massacres against civilians and patients, and using various types of internationally prohibited weapons against a defenseless people.
We believe that the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle exposed the fragility of the “Israeli entity,” failed the media war led by Western and Hebrew media tycoons, and demonstrated the ability and determination of the Palestinian people to liberate their lands from the filth of the occupation.
The battle also brought the Palestinian issue back to the forefront of developments in the world, and was able to attract and influence global public opinion and shift it towards the Palestinian issue. On the other hand, the Israeli side has not achieved any of its declared goals so far.
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How does the second round of the battle differ from the ground operation that preceded the temporary humanitarian truce?
What distinguishes the second round of the battle is the worsening Israeli madness in targeting civilians and infrastructure, to record an achievement on the ground, but to no avail, and this is what confirms its failure and acceptance of defeat so far.
The resumption of Israeli bombing after the humanitarian truce is the best evidence that the occupation leaders acknowledge defeat, and that they see blind and indiscriminate bombing as a way to destroy the Strip, perhaps offering its scorched earth an achievement, while neither humanitarian logic nor military norms consider the bombing of civilians to be evidence of victory. Rather, it is evidence of failure and defeat.
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Why was the Israeli government forced to resume the battle even though it knew that the price would be high?
The “Zionist entity” committed a grave mistake by resuming the aggression against Gaza, thinking that its military arsenal would turn the tide of the battle in its favor, but it did not learn from the American experience in its invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Israeli leadership is also clinging to continuing the aggression to find an honorable way out for it, by delivering painful blows to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas). This is something that has not and will not be achieved on Earth. Because their owners have the upper hand in the street wars and gang wars that take place in their lands, and they know best about its paths.
The nature of classic battles is completely different from guerrilla warfare, and this is what the Israeli side did not take into account before launching a ground operation in Gaza.
In an indication of the confusion of the Israeli army in its ongoing operation in Gaza and the collapse of its morale, statistics indicate that 20% of the occupation’s losses were due to friendly fire. Because the nature of the battle has become completely different from what was expected, and it lacks a front line and a front line.
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What is the importance of the battle losing a front line, which facilitates the targeting of Israeli forces and military vehicles from zero distance?
The first characteristic of guerrilla warfare is the loss of a front line, which increases the chances of the landowners targeting the invading forces. Over the decades, the Palestinian resistance has worked to arm all of Gaza and create fortifications underground and above it, especially in places owned by the resistance, and here the resistance fighters are using these fortifications to target enemy forces from zero distance.
We know very well that as the battle continues, zero-range targeting of Israeli forces will increase, because the Israeli army waging a guerrilla war in Gaza is no less dangerous than entering a mine field with explosives.
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In your opinion, to what extent can the Israeli leadership tolerate the high rate of casualties among its forces, including senior officers?
The “Zionist entity” is not accustomed to long-term battles, and the Israeli leadership is subjected to tremendous pressure to end the battle.
We believe that the passage of time is not in Israel’s favor, and that if the war continues for another month, the Israeli army will leave Gaza carrying the tails of defeat and shame, because with the passage of time, the pressure of Israeli public opinion will increase, especially the families of the prisoners on the one hand, and Western support for Tel Aviv will decline. On the other hand.
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Since the first day of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, Israel has threatened to destroy the tunnel network in Gaza, and it appears that it intends to flood it with seawater. Do you see this as a possible plan?
The occupation revealed only the smallest of the tunnel networks in Gaza because it is not a unified network, and part of what was found was a trap that caused the occupation forces to lose lives, making them not dare to enter it.
The “Israeli entity” cannot flood it with water because it knows that its prisoners are sitting there, and that a number of them who were released by Hamas confirmed this. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does this, the repercussions will be dire for him.
However, we believe that he is unable to submerge it completely with water; Because it was built on parts and not a unified network, and the resistance prepared to separate it and divide it into smaller parts, and therefore there is no fear for it and it will remain a nightmare for the occupation.
The other point I would like to point out is that the resistance axis, which planned with the Palestinians to build more than 400 kilometers of tunnels under an area of land that did not exceed 40 square kilometers, took various possible “scenarios” into consideration.
These scenarios include flooding the tunnels with water, pumping toxic gas into them, or blowing up parts of them. Therefore, the Palestinian side in the tunnels knows very well how to deal with all possible challenges.
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What is your reading of the Houthis fighting naval battles against Israeli ships and ships heading to the occupied territories, and what is its impact on the course of the battle?
The Yemeni Ansar Allah group (the Houthis) took upon itself the task of supporting Gaza, based on Islamic teachings calling for supporting the oppressed. It pledged to prevent ships heading to the “Zionist entity” from navigating in the Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. This decision will put additional pressure on Israel, especially in The field of securing ships heading to the occupied Palestinian territories.
We suggest to the Houthis not only to confiscate the cargo of ships heading to Israel, but rather to confiscate the ships carrying those goods if their origin or cargo is from Islamic countries.
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How do you view the Islamic Republic’s warning to the United States that it will face exceptional problems if it wants to form an international force to protect navigation in the Red Sea? Is Tehran actually capable of implementing these threats?
The Iranian position is clear in this area. We oppose the formation of any international coalition in our region, and we believe that the Western side’s insistence on forming such a force will raise the number of targets for the Yemeni Navy to conduct military exercises at sea and near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
As for Tehran, it had previously opposed the formation of such an alliance under the pretext of ensuring maritime navigation in Gulf waters, and the project failed through political and operational opposition. We say this time, it is the same warning, and it is the same determination and choices.
I would like to draw the attention of those who doubt Iran’s ability to implement its threats to the downing of the American Global Hawk drone, which was shot down by the Revolutionary Guard in 2019 after it entered Iranian airspace.
