70,000 Iranian Students 'Volunteer To Carry Out Suicide Bombings In Israel'

The Daily Telegraph

More than 70,000 Iranian students have volunteered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel, according to Iran's state news agency, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not responded to their request for permission.

Volunteer suicide groups have made similar requests in the past and the government has never responded, which suggests that the campaigns are mostly propaganda.

According to the official IRNA news agency, hardline student leader Esmaeil Ahmadi said the students want to fight Israel in support of Hamas, Gaza's Islamic militant rulers.

Iran is Hamas' main backer, though the country denies sending weapons to the Islamic militant movement that took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Iran considers Israel its sworn enemy, and Mr Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of the Jewish state.

Five hard-line student groups and a conservative clerical group launched the registration drive for suicide bombers last week and asked the government to allow them to stage the attacks.

In an open letter to Mr Ahmadinejad, the students said "volunteer student suicide groups ... are determined to go to Gaza. You are expected to issue orders to the relevant authorities to pave the way for such action".

The hard-liners started signing up volunteers after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a religious decree on Dec 28 saying that anyone killed while defending Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks would be considered a martyr.

Ayatollah Khamenei's religious decree was not considered a government decision and did not oblige the government to launch attacks against Israel.

Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians, has outraged many in Iran and throughout the rest of the Muslim world. Israel says it launched its campaign in retaliation for Hamas rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.