Iran and a New Chapter in Relations Between Saudi Arabia and Hamas

Finally, after years of tension, on July 26, Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas's political bureau, met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, leading a delegation of senior officials from the Palestinian group. This meeting marks a new chapter in relations between Hamas and Riyadh. The significance of this meeting has not gone unnoticed by Arab media and observers, with questions raised about its connection to the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group. Mohammad al-Bardawil, a leader of Hamas, stated in an interview with the Jordanian state news agency (Ma'an), "The meeting of the Hamas delegation headed by Khaled Mashal with King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman... indicates a major opening in relations between Hamas and Riyadh." Since 2007, following clashes between the Fatah and Hamas factions in the Gaza Strip and Hamas's complete control of the area, relations between the Palestinian group and Saudi Arabia had been severed. Riyadh accused Hamas of violating the Mecca Agreement, which had been brokered by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia among Palestinian factions. Al-Bardawil added regarding the recent meeting, "This meeting cuts the tongue of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who stated that there is a coalition between Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE to deprive Palestinians of Arab support." He further stated, "The aim of this meeting is to revive Arab efforts to support Palestine." Hamas has been affected by regional wars and tensions following the onset of revolutions in the Arab world. Its relationship with Bashar al-Assad's regime, an ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran, soured after the suppression of opposition. Consequently, many Hamas leaders left Damascus, their main base, for Qatar. Saudi Arabia is releasing Hamas prisoners. Al-Bardawil noted that the improvement in relations with Saudi Arabia means granting more freedoms to Saudi NGOs to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians, especially in Gaza. He also emphasized that during the meeting, Saudi Arabia released four Hamas figures who had been detained for "misunderstandings" several months ago. This was the first direct contact between Hamas leaders and Saudi leaders since the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. At that time, Khaled Mashal sent a condolence message to the new King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Following that, media reports indicated signs of improving relations between the two sides. For instance, last month, Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader, spoke to Al Jazeera about the improving relations of his group with Riyadh. Additionally, Radwan had previously requested King Salman to pressure Egypt to remove Hamas from the list of terrorist organizations, which was accomplished when an Egyptian court revoked the previous ruling designating Hamas as a terrorist group. However, Egypt still recognizes the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's military wing, as terrorist. The rulings issued in Egypt against Hamas stem from the group's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood. Current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was previously the Minister of Defense, announced last year the presidency of the country following the ousting of Mohamed Morsi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although this action occurred after several days of protests by tens of thousands in the streets of Egypt, particularly in Cairo, Sisi received support from Saudi Arabia and several Arab countries in this action. After the onset of unrest in Syria, Hamas's relationship with Iran was also affected. Tehran was considered one of the main supporters of Hamas. However, after Hamas leaders expressed support for the Syrian opposition, reports indicated a reduction in Iranian aid to this Palestinian group. Until last summer, during the bloody 50-day conflict between Hamas and Israel, Iran declared support for armed Palestinian groups in Gaza. Prior to that, some news sources, including Al-Monitor, reported the resumption of Iranian financial aid to Hamas. Jihad Harb, a political analyst in the Arab world, suggested in an interview with the Palestinian newspaper Al-Dunya Al-Watan that the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West might be one of the factors that prompted Saudi leaders to decisively invite Hamas leaders to Riyadh. He also stated, "Of course, the negotiations were related to issues prior to the nuclear agreement and were more about internal Arab conditions. However, the nuclear agreement could have played a role in accelerating this meeting." He added, "The Arab region is witnessing developments, albeit non-dramatic. However, at least there may be a tendency for the leadership of the Sunni coalition to attract Sunni political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. There are relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey based on this regarding the Syrian crisis, but the issues remain general." Hani al-Basous, another political analyst in the Arab world, disagrees with Harb's view. He stated, "The meeting of Hamas leaders with Saudi leaders has nothing to do with the nuclear agreement. This meeting took place two days after the agreement, and such a large meeting must have been pre-planned." He added, "The nuclear agreement will have impacts on Arab and regional situations, but Saudi Arabia had already begun a new chapter of relations with Hamas before this agreement." Mohammad al-Bardawil from Hamas also stated in his interview with Ma'an news agency, "The opening of relations with Saudi Arabia does not affect Hamas's relations with Iran. Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic movement and seeks unconditional Arab and Islamic support for the Palestinian cause." He added, "We cannot establish a relationship at the expense of damaging another relationship. Hamas engages with all parties that provide it with financial, military, and moral support."