A Hamas Spokesperson: Our Relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran Are Unbreakable

Osama Hamdan, one of the spokespeople for Hamas, stated that the movement's relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are 'unbreakable.' These remarks were made in an interview with the Arabic television network Watan, published on Friday, July 29. Osama Hamdan, who lives in Lebanon and is responsible for Hamas's foreign relations, said that Iran supports 'Palestinian resistance, especially Hamas,' and that the relationship dates back to the formation of the movement. Meanwhile, Hamdan confirmed that relations with Iran 'cooled' during a period but are 'not easily severed' because they are 'deep and long-lasting.' Hamdan's reference to the cooling of relations pertains to Hamas's support for some opposition groups in Syria and its refusal to send fighters to support Bashar al-Assad's army in Syria. Hamas, which emerged from the Muslim Brotherhood, has supported Syrian opposition groups aligned with the Brotherhood and has trained some of their forces in its camps in Gaza and Lebanon during the Syrian civil war. Osama Hamdan told Watan that 'Hamas no longer has relations with the Syrian government, and the severance of relations with Syria continues.' Hamdan also described relations with Hezbollah in Lebanon as strong. Hezbollah, aligned with Iran, has taken a position on the Syrian civil war and has sent thousands of its forces to the Syrian front for three years. Despite Hamdan's statements, senior Hamas figures have not visited Iran in recent years. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard recently emphasized its continued support for Hamas and distanced itself from statements made by senior commander Khosrow Arouj regarding Hamas. Arouj told the Mehr news agency that they thought Hamas was formed to fight Israel, while they are also seeking their own status and have recently been negotiating with Israel through Turkey for new deals. Osama Hamdan also mentioned in the interview that Hamas will soon determine a successor to Khaled Mashal in its internal elections. Khaled Mashal's two terms as head of Hamas's political bureau are coming to an end. Hamas insists that it does not recognize Mahmoud Abbas as the leader of the Palestinians and that presidential and parliamentary elections should be held as soon as possible in the West Bank and Gaza. Having effectively governed Gaza for nine years, Hamas expresses 'confidence' in its victory in any elections in the West Bank as well. Despite the apparent reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and the dissolution of Hamas's government in Gaza since last year, Hamas has still not allowed the Palestinian Authority to exercise its governance over the Gaza Strip. A faction within Hamas that believes in closer ties to Iran accuses Khaled Mashal of being lenient towards Arab governments against Iran and believes that Mashal has softened his political views in recent years. Last week, Khaled Mashal stated in an interview with Indian media that 'the conditions and necessities of the time have changed.' According to Mashal, Hamas demands all of Palestine but is willing to accept the Arab peace plan and the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders under conditions, including the realization of the rights of Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, Hamdan's interview with Watan took place before a meeting between Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, and Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization. President Abbas, who traveled to Paris on Saturday, July 30, to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, reportedly also met with Maryam Rajavi on the same day. This was the first public meeting of its kind between the leader of the Palestinian Authority and the leaders of the Mujahedin-e Khalq in Iran. Palestinian news agencies reported that Maryam Rajavi, who lives in France, visited Abbas's residence for this meeting. On one hand, the Mujahedin-e Khalq is considered an opposition group to the Islamic Republic of Iran, while on the other hand, Hamas is a staunch opposition to the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad recently condemned the presence of Prince Turki al-Faisal, a prominent Palestinian figure, at last month's Mujahedin-e Khalq conference in Paris and his tribute to Maryam Rajavi.