The wording of a joint statement of world leaders condemning Hamas's war against Israel, has mysteriously removed mention of Iran.

According to copies of documents obtained by Iran International, in the first drafts of the press release from the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the US, it had clearly sent a message to Iran to stay out of the fray.

It stated: “Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further call on other extremist groups, and any state that may seek to take advantage of such a situation, and in particular Iran, not to seek to exploit this situation for other ends, or to spread the conflict beyond Gaza.”

However, just hours later, when the final statements went out from President Macron of France, Chancellor Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Meloni of Italy, Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom, and President Biden of the United States, the reference to the Iranian regime had disappeared.

It comes as fingers are pointing at Iran for Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Saturday morning which since it began, has seen over 1,200 Israelis dead, more than 2,000 seriously wounded, and dozens taken hostage to Gaza.

As the days go by, more revelations expose the brutality of the assault which has seen babies beheaded, elderly women taken hostage, and young women raped and burnt alive in the streets. Retaliation from Israel has seen Gaza slowly razed, key members of the terror network assassinated and huge swathes of the enclave crushed. Hundreds have already died.

While there is no conclusive evidence as to the involvement of Iran in the worst offensive against the Jewish state in 50 years, Hamas is its biggest Palestinian proxy, receiving at least $100m a year in addition to military support and training. High level leaders of Iran’s Palestinian proxies have also had multiple meetings in recent weeks orchestrated and hosted by Tehran.

The latest statement of the world leaders instead read on Tuesday: “Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities. We further emphasise that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.”

The US has moved aircraft carriers into the Mediterranean as a clear deterrent to Iran not to escalate matters, from its proxies in Syria and Lebanon or its own soil.

While Iran’s Supreme Leader and President led the charge to sing out praise for the Hamas operation, General Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said its moving support into the region was a clear warning to other countries, namely Iran’s proxies, ”not to get involved."

"We want to send a pretty strong message. We do not want this to broaden, and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear," Brown said on Monday, naming Iran in no uncertain terms.

The group of world leaders in the latest show of support released on Tuesday, expressed its “unequivocal condemnation of Hamas and its appalling acts of terrorism”, adding that its actions have “no justification, no legitimacy, and must be universally condemned”, contrary to the regime rhetoric that Israel’s “occupation” has led to the current situation.

“In recent days, the world has watched in horror as Hamas terrorists massacred families in their homes, slaughtered over 200 young people enjoying a music festival, and kidnapped elderly women, children, and entire families, who are now being held as hostages,” the group said, while recognising what it called “the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people”.

“But make no mistake: Hamas does not represent those aspirations, and it offers nothing for the Palestinian people other than more terror and bloodshed,” it added.

On Wednesday, missiles were fired once again into Israel from Lebanon, the IDF responded with artillery fire. While Hezbollah continues to claim responsibility, the IDF Tuesday morning claimed the group responsible for the hostilities of recent days was Palestinian Islamic Jihad, also backed by Tehran.