Iran to Increase Islamic Jihad Financing By 70 %

June 8, 2002

Iran will increase by 70 percent its funding to the militant Islamic Jihad organization in order to carry out suicide attacks, the London-based Al-Shark al-Awsat daily reported Saturday.

The report comes just three days after a car packed with explosives and driven by an Islamic Jihad activist from the Jenin area blew up next to an Egged bus near in Megiddo, killing 17 of the passengers and wounding 47 others.

Ramadan Shallah, secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad, and Iran's spiritual leader Ali Khamenei held discussions in Tehran last week on increasing financial aide to the organization, the paper said.

The report, which appeared on the newspaper's front page, said that Iran has decided to increase its funding to several Palestinians resistance organizations and to provide financial assistance to Palestinians who have lost their source of income.

A source close to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard told the newspaper that Khamenei promised Shallah that Iran would increase by 70 percent the funds given to the Islamic Jihad for suicide attacks.

Last year a dispute broke out between Islamic Jihad and the Hezbollah on the money transferred to the two organizations by Iran, the paper said. According to the report, Khamenei promised Shallah that Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah would have separate budgets and Khamenei ordered a large sum to be immediately transferred to Islamic Jihad.

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