Iran praises Hamas for sticking to struggle against Israel
TOI STAFF and DOV LIEBER
In Tehran, Gaza-based terror group’s deputy chief rejects Israeli and American demands and vows to eliminate the ‘Zionist entity’
Ali Akbar Velayati , senior aide to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (YouTube screenshot)
A top aide to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei praised Hamas for not abandoning its armed struggle against Israel, during a meeting Saturday with the terror group’s visiting delegation in Tehran.
“We congratulate you for declaring that you will not set your weapons aside and for describing it as your red line,” said international affairs adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
In a separate meeting Saturday, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, sent a similar message to the terror group, expressing hope that Hamas would continue to be a “central pioneer of the Palestinian resistance,” according to Iran’s Press TV.
During the meeting, Shamkhani condemned ostensible American and Israeli attempts to remove the Palestinian issue from the international agenda, the report said.
Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, right, shakes hands with the head of the UN’s atomic watchdog Yukiya Amano during a meeting in Tehran on July 02, 2015. (AFP/ATTA KENARE)
“The US and the Zionist regime feel threatened by any balance shift in the Middle East in favor of regional people and governments engaged in the fight against terrorism,” Shamkhani said. “They seek to obstruct the path of anti-terrorism fight by bringing up unfounded pretexts such as blocking Iran’s regional sway.”
Hamas deputy chief Salah al-Arouri, who is leading the delegation, thanked Iran for its patronage and noted that senior officials in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were interested in expanding ties with Tehran.
The high-ranking Hamas delegation began its visit to Iran on Friday to inform its backers in Tehran about reconciliation efforts with rival Palestinian faction Fatah, an official from the terror group told AFP.
The two Palestinians factions have agreed on a landmark deal to end a decade-long split and are seeking to form a unity government along with other parties.
Arouri rejected Israel’s three preconditions for dealing with any Palestinian government in which Hamas sits — that Hamas disarm, recognize Israel and cut all relations with Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (center right) meets with senior Hamas officials in Tehran on August 7, 2017. (screen capture)
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