Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has held a meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Tehran-backed Palestinian group Hamas, in Tehran, as reported by Iranian state media on Sunday. This comes a day after Hamas confirmed that a meeting had taken place between the two parties.
According to Iranian state media, Haniyeh, who has been residing between Qatar and Turkey since 2019, updated Khamenei on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip, including the crimes committed by the Israeli regime in Gaza, as well as the situation in the West Bank.
Although the Islamic Republic claims to support Hamas, it denies any involvement in the recent surprise attack by militants on Israel. Iran’s state TV stated that Ayatollah Khamenei commended the resilience and steadfastness of the people of Gaza and expressed deep regret over the crimes committed by the Israeli regime, which he claimed were supported directly by Washington and some Western countries.
The meeting date was not specified, but Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Khamenei stressed Tehran’s consistent policy of supporting Palestinian resistance forces against the Israeli occupiers.
Iran’s clerical establishment has issued a warning to Israel, a country it refuses to recognize, stating that there will be severe consequences if attacks on the Gaza Strip persist.
(Note: This story has been refiled to correct a typographical error in the headline)
(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by David Evans)
