The allegation appears in a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks that reports a conversation two years ago between Israel Defense Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Harel and US Ambassador to Israel James Cunningham.
Harel spoke about Katyusha, Grad and Fajr rockets. The Katyusha was originally manufactured in the former Soviet Union, and was developed before World War II. It comes in diameters of 107 millimeters and 122 millimeters,.
Harel said Hamas had Chinese and Iranian-made 122 mm Katyushas with a range of up to 30 kilometers. He said the Iranian version of the 122 mm rocket “was designed specifically for Hamas, as it came in four pieces that could fit through narrow tunnels and be reassembled in Gaza.”
According to the cable, published by the Israeli daily Haaretz: “Harel also stated that sophisticated anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs ) were found in Gaza, to include the Russian-made Konkours system. Hamas also had SA-7 surface-to-air missiles and sophisticated improvised explosive devices of all varieties. Lastly, Harel said that Israel has sensitive intelligence that Iran is constructing an additional Hamas-specific missile, based on the Fajr, that will have a range beyond 40 kilometers.”
When asked how serious Egypt was about preventing Iranian weapons smuggling, Harel said: “Cooperation against smuggling is better with Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman than it is with Egyptian Military Commander Field Marshal Tantawi. Tantawi is the head of the military council now ruling Egypt. Suleiman has been sidelined since the revolution.
According to the cable, Harel asked the United States to use its leverage to get Cairo to take more serious steps to stop the smuggling.
The cable states that Harel suggested two methods of doing so. The first: “there are only four major paved roads, and Egypt could easily interdict these routes with road blocks.” The second was for Egypt to close its border with Sudan. Iran has been known to send weapons to Sudan and then smuggle them on the ground from there to Gaza.
