Iranian newspaper affiliated with regime: ‘Oct 7 – a grave strategic mistake’

The Iranian newspaper Jomhouri Eslami, which is affiliated with the Ayatollah regime and published under the supervision of the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, released an unusual analysis this Sunday morning describing Hamas’s attack on Israel on Oct. 7 as “a serious strategic error that led to a series of disasters in the Muslim world.”

The article stated that “although the recently signed ceasefire agreement in Gaza brings humanitarian relief, the war caused massive destruction in the Gaza Strip, the deaths of tens of thousands, and severe damage to the Iranian resistance axis.”

The piece argued that the two-year-long campaign resulted in “the loss of influence of Tehran’s allies” — with the assassination of former Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, and heavy losses for the Houthis in Yemen.

Iran itself, the article noted, has suffered hundreds of casualties, including scientists and officers. “Although Israel did not achieve its military goals,” it warned, Israel is “now attempting to realize them through the agreement.” The article concluded: “There are no winners in the Gaza war — all sides, especially the Muslim world, have emerged as losers.”

About two weeks ago, the UN Security Council voted to reimpose sanctions on Iran. The vote followed Britain, France, and Germany’s announcement that they were triggering the “snapback” mechanism, reinstating UN sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program.

This move came as a result of the Islamic Republic’s failure to comply with the commitments it made under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Following the renewed sanctions, Iran recalled its ambassadors to Germany, Britain, and France for consultations.

Tehran harshly criticized the Security Council’s decision. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on the current president of the Security Council to declare the decision illegal. He said, “The United States betrayed diplomacy, but the three European powers buried it — and the four countries bear full responsibility for the grave consequences of this decision.”

Nevertheless, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that Tehran does not intend to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He added: “We are ready to act with full transparency regarding our enriched uranium.”