Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders have both praised Iran’s role in the ongoing war in Gaza. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei recently held meetings with Ismail Haniyeh, chair of the Hamas movement’s Political Bureau, and Ziyad al-Nakhala, secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad movement, in Tehran.
Post the meeting, the Iranian Supreme Leader’s office issued a readout where it stated, “the war in Gaza is a world war and the U.S. governing body is the main accomplice of the Zionist crimes as it is in charge of guiding the military operations of the Zionist regime.”
“With God’s grace, you will see the ultimate victory of the people of Gaza,” tweeted the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on X.
The meetings by the Iranian Supreme Leader with both the leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad suggest that there is little to no wish by Iran to play a stabilising role in bringing the war in Gaza to an end. Some hope towards this end was reached when EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell had a phone conversation with Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian earlier this week.
A readout of the conversation by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that “Borrell opposed Israel’s threats to attack Rafah and criticized the Zionist regime’s policy of starving civilians. He described Iran’s regional role as important and called for Tehran’s continued efforts to reduce tensions in the West Asian region.”
The visit to Tehran was only the second visit by Haniyeh since the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel last year. The visit seemed to re-affirm Iran’s support for the ‘Axis of Resistance’ and especially for Hamas. Post the meeting Haniyeh said in a press conference in Tehran Israel was facing “unprecedented political isolation.”
“Although this resolution came late and there may be some gaps that need to be filled, the resolution itself indicates that the occupation [Israel] is experiencing unprecedented political isolation,” Haniyeh said at the press conference in Tehran, referring to the UNSC resolution against Israel calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer posted on X. “Any resolution that Hamas and Iran celebrate is a bad one for Israel and the US.”
