Hamas Thanks Khamenei for 'Support and Guidance from Iran'

The head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, expressed gratitude in a letter to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, for what he termed the 'support of the Iranian people and his guidance' for the 'resistance movement.' According to the Islamic Republic's leader's website, Haniyeh described the 'dimensions of the great conspiracy of imperialism against Jerusalem and the Palestinian people aimed at overthrowing Gaza as a fortress of resistance.' He noted that other goals of 'imperialism' included 'ending the struggle against the occupying regime and normalizing relations of regional rulers dependent on Israel.' In part of his letter, on behalf of what he called 'all the steadfast people of Palestine,' he added that they 'praise the firm and valuable positions of the Islamic Republic on the issue of Palestine and Jerusalem and its support for the Palestinian people's resistance through various forms of assistance.' Israel, the United States, and several countries around the world have consistently accused Tehran of supporting Palestinian groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which they label as terrorist organizations. In contrast, the Islamic Republic of Iran describes them as 'Islamic liberation movements.' In this context, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in a statement on July 24 that it 'applauds the will of all fighters on the path of Jerusalem as one of the main and strategic supporters of the Palestinian intifada and will not spare any effort in supporting them.' Previously, Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi, the Friday prayer leader of Tehran, called for 'arming the Palestinian people' in his sermon on December 15. Ali Saidi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the IRGC, also stated on December 14 in a ceremony in Semnan province that 'if the Fajr-5 missiles were not in Gaza, this strip would be in a different situation today, and the enemies of resistance would have destroyed it.' Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestine fired Fajr-5 missiles towards Israeli cities, including Jerusalem (Al-Quds) and Tel Aviv, during operations in the summer of 2014. However, the firing of these missiles towards Israel had begun about two years prior. This was the first time a high-ranking Iranian official referred to the existence of Fajr-5 missiles in Gaza. However, prior to him, Aladdin Boroujerdi, the head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of the Iranian Parliament, had denied the delivery of these missiles from Iran to Palestinian forces. The letter from the head of Hamas's political bureau to the leader of the Islamic Republic was published at a time when Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on January 12, coinciding with the lifting of Iran's nuclear sanctions, stated: 'The Iranian regime is the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism and has enabled Hezbollah, Hamas, and many other terrorists to create chaos and kill innocent people. This government has financed and trained over 100,000 militia to destroy the entire Middle East.' Earlier, Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Defense Minister, had stated on December 3 that the mortars fired from Gaza towards southern Israel on the previous Monday and Friday were produced in Iran in 2008 and delivered to Hamas. According to Lieberman, 'the groups in Gaza operate with Iranian support, and many of them receive weapons from Iran.' Meanwhile, Ismail Haniyeh criticized the actions of Washington and the leaders of some Arab countries in another part of his letter, writing that 'the United States and some defeated rulers are trying to end the Palestinian issue and resistance against the occupying regime so that leaders who are eager to please the US and Israel can normalize their relations with the Zionist regime and, in return, by directing hostilities towards Iran and inciting sectarian tensions, divert the compass of the Islamic Ummah.' The head of Hamas's political bureau expressed deep faith in the 'great role' of Ayatollah Khamenei in 'guiding the Islamic Republic and its faithful commanders to confront the project of resolving the Palestinian issue,' and he thanked Iran for 'standing by Palestine in difficult times and fulfilling the Islamic duty of supporting resistance.' He added that Iran, under the guidance of the Supreme Leader, 'has had and will continue to have a significant advantage in strengthening the fighters and rooting the option of resistance and struggle in Palestine.' Hamas, which the US considers a terrorist group, has called on Palestinians to begin an intifada in strong criticism of the US President's announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Hamas among Palestinian groups. However, for several years, there were reports of a cooling of relations between Iran and Hamas and the group's closeness to Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, these relations improved after Yahya Sinwar was elected as the leader of Hamas in Gaza last year. Sinwar later announced on August 28 that relations with Iran had improved. At that time, Reuters quoted this senior Hamas official as saying, 'Our relations with Iran are very good today, and Iran is the largest military and financial supporter of the Al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Hamas).'