Smoke rises from the Israeli side after Palestinian Hamas gunmen infiltrated areas of southern Israel, as seen from Gaza, October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Oct 11 - Iran likely knew that Palestinian Hamas militants were planning "operations against Israel" but initial U.S. intelligence reports show that some Iranian leaders were surprised by the Islamist group's unprecedented attack from Gaza, U.S. sources said on Wednesday.
White House spokesman John Kirby reiterated on Wednesday in an MSNBC interview that Iran was complicit because of its longtime ties to Hamas but "we haven't seen anything that cites specific support to this specific set of attacks." The source familiar with the intelligence told Reuters that U.S. intelligence agencies were still digging for any evidence of Iranian involvement as well as reviewing older intelligence for clues.