Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Iranian pro-regime media said on Sunday. The meeting was widely expected and had been reported yesterday. However, Iranian media reported it on Sunday. Fars News and Tasnim News in Iran both noted that the “head of the political office of Hamas and the delegation met with the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Khamenei.”
Haniyeh presented the Iranian Ayatollah with an update on “developments in Gaza” and also accused Israel of “crimes.” He also discussed “developments in the West Bank,” Iranian media said. “The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also once again expressed his appreciation for the patience and perseverance of the steadfast people of Gaza and strongly deplored the crimes committed by the Zionist regime with the direct support of the United States and some Western countries,” the report noted.
A united front
This illustrates how Iran is trying to create a united front against the US and Israel. It is using Hamas as part of this front but also trying to get Hezbollah, the Houthis and militias in Iraq and Syria involved.
Iran is trying to mobilize Muslim countries, the report noted. This coincides with protests against the US in Turkey. While the Iranian reports are slim on what was actually achieved in the meeting, the meeting itself is symbolic and important.
Haniyeh has met with Iran’s foreign minister twice during the last month since Hamas carried out a massive attack on Israel, killing 1,400 people. Iran has also been doing outreach to Turkey, Russia and China. Hamas has also done outreach to Russia. In addition Iran reached out to Norway over the weekend. Iran is also working with Qatar, which hosts Haniyeh and Hamas.
The meeting in Tehran is designed to show that Hamas has the total support of Iran. It comes after the speech by Hassan Nasrallah in which he seemed to climb-down from launching a war on Israel.