The head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, and the secretary-general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist movement, Ziyad al-Nakhala, arrived in Tehran on Tuesday to meet with Iranian leaders, a day after the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.
Haniyeh met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to discuss “developments related to the ongoing war on Gaza and all the variables related to the Palestinian issue,” according to a statement by Hamas.
Haniyeh celebrated the UN Security Council resolution approved on Monday, saying during a press conference with Iran’s foreign minister that this “indicates the unprecedented political isolation experienced by the Israeli occupation.”
The Hamas leader neglected to mention the resolution’s demand that his movement “immediately and unconditionally” release the Israeli hostages it kidnapped during the October 7th massacre.
Haniyeh added that Israel had “failed to achieve its political and military goals” in Gaza, saying, “We are going through a historical stage and a fateful turning point in the context of the historical conflict with the Zionist entity in the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood (Hamas’s name for the October 7 massacre).”
During the meeting between Khamenei and Haniyeh, Khamenei complimented “the propaganda and media measures” of Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist groups. He also referenced the elimination of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri, calling him an “outstanding personality” and saying he had a “happy end of martyrdom.”
Haniyeh told Khamenei, “The Gaza war is a world war, and the American ruling body is the main accomplice of the Zionist crime because it is in charge of leading the war of the Zionist regime.”
'Palestinians will defeat Israel thanks to Quran, Islam, Iran'
Nakhala spoke at an event in the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Tuesday, insisting that “The Palestinian nation will defeat Israel thanks to the Quran and Islam and Iran's support.”
زیاد نخاله، دبیرکل جنبش جهاد اسلامی فلسطین، با حضور در تجمع حکومتی «محفل قرآنی امام حسنیها» در استادیوم آزادی تهران گفت به «برکت حمایت جمهوری اسلامی از فلسطین اسرائیل را نابود میکنیم.» pic.twitter.com/fDzk09vxmY
— اتاق خبر منوتو (@ManotoNews) March 26, 2024
The Islamic Jihad leader was set to meet with Iranian leaders later in the day.