25-05-2025
Palestinian Islamic Jihad's Representative in Iran Nasser Abu Sharif: We Receive Iranian Funding, But They Make No Demands of Us; We Consult Them on Operations That Could Affect Them
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) representative in Iran, Nasser Abu Sharif, discussed the organization's ties with Iran in an interview with Arabic Post on YouTube, posted on May 14, 2025. He confirmed that PIJ currently receives direct funding from Iran, but said that this was not always the case. According to Abu Sharif, formal relations between Iran and PIJ began in 1988; prior to that, Iran maintained ties with the PLO and Fatah.
Abu Sharif referred to Jews and Christians as 'infidels' and argued that blame should not be directed at Iran or PIJ, but at those who normalize relations with Jews and establish ties with them. He said Iran has never issued specific requests to PIJ, but that the group considers Iranian interests in matters that could affect Iran. As an example, he cited a 2012 incident in which PIJ leader Ramadan Shalah consulted Iran before launching a rocket at Tel Aviv, because it was Iranian-made and could have made Iran a target.
