Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is expected to visit Iran soon to discuss “political and field developments,” Hamas announced on Friday.
The planned visit is seen by Palestinians as another sign of improved relations between Hamas and Iran after the tensions that erupted between the two sides over the civil war in Syria.
Relations between Hamas and Iran were strained when the Palestinian group refused to come out in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, a key ally of the Iranian regime in the Middle East.
Hamas leaders have recently sought to restore their ties with the Syrian government.
Hamas leader based outside of Palestinian territories
Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar, received a phone call from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who invited him to visit Tehran and meet with the Iranian leadership to discuss more details and current developments, Hamas said in a statement.
The Iranian-backed group said Haniyeh “expressed his thanks and appreciation for the call, confirming his acceptance of the invitation and his intention to go to Tehran soon.”
The invitation came in the aftermath of the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Lebanon, where he was filmed on Friday while touring Lebanon’s border with Israel.
The invitation of Haniyeh to Iran also came three weeks after dozens of rockets were fired at Israel from south Lebanon. Reports claimed that Hamas or other Palestinian terror groups were behind the attack. The reports said that the rocket attack was a sign of growing coordination between the Palestinian groups and Iran’s Lebanese proxy militia, Hezbollah.
Hamas leaders have revealed in the past that their group receives financial aid from Iran.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the second largest armed group in the Gaza Strip after Hamas, is also backed by Iran.
According to Hamas, during the phone call with Haniyeh, the Iranian foreign minister “praised the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and expressed pride in the Palestinian resistance that hurts and disturbs” Israel.
The “resistance” refers to Palestinian armed attacks against Israel, including the launching of rockets, stabbings, shootings and car ramming attacks.
Hamas said that the Iranian minister “emphasized the centrality of the Jerusalem issue,” noting that the Islamic Republic was closely following “the Zionist aggression and practices in the city.”
Haniyeh, Hamas added, briefed the Iranian minister on the “crimes committed by the occupation in the West Bank and Jerusalem, the siege of the Gaza Strip and the role of the resistance in repelling the [Israeli] aggression.”
Haniyeh also praised the recent rallies organized by Iran on “Jerusalem Day,” during which tens of thousands of Iranians chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi said in a speech that “Jerusalem Day" that the expression of global support proved to the Palestinian and Lebanese people, as well as to the “resistance fighters,” that they are not alone.