Khamenei's Meeting with Nakhaleh and Haniyeh; Israeli Army: Likely Discussed Spending Iranian Money to Kill Israelis

The Israeli army's account on X shared photos of Ali Khamenei's meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader, and Ziad Nakhaleh, the leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Tehran, stating: "We can assume that the discussions included how to spend more Iranian money to kill Israelis." The account continued: "These two terrorist organizations are trying to kill Israelis with weapons made and funded by the Islamic Republic. We can assume that the discussions included how to spend more Iranian money to kill Israelis, while they likely wished that Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, could join them." On Tuesday, coinciding with the swearing-in ceremony of Masoud Pezeshkian in the Islamic Republic's parliament, Khamenei praised the "resistance of the people of Gaza" and emphasized that "the highest flag of Islam is in the hands of the Palestinian nation and the people of Gaza." In this meeting, Ismail Haniyeh congratulated Pezeshkian and praised the "firm positions of the Islamic Republic in support of the Palestinians." Haniyeh also described the field and political situation in Gaza and the West Bank, emphasizing the importance of consolidating the heroism and victory of the Palestinian people. Ziad Nakhaleh also congratulated Pezeshkian and praised his positions in support of the Palestinians, considering the joint presence of Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in Tehran as a "symbol of the unity of resistance forces." Masoud Pezeshkian, on the eve of his swearing-in ceremony, stated in a meeting with the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah that the Islamic Republic's support for these groups will continue with greater strength. He stated that the efforts of these groups will lead to the "destruction of Israel." In his meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, Pezeshkian emphasized that the Islamic Republic's support for Hamas will continue "with greater strength and power." He also stated in a separate meeting with Sheikh Naeem Qassem from Hezbollah that support for Hezbollah and other resistance groups in the region is a "religious duty and a fundamental policy of the Islamic Republic." Hamas is one of the groups listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. Following Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 last year, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the abduction of over 250 others, including children, women, and the elderly to the Gaza Strip, Israel launched an offensive against Gaza aimed at destroying this Islamic Republic-backed group and freeing the hostages. After this attack, other proxy groups of the Islamic Republic, including Hezbollah and the Houthis, began attacking Israel and U.S. positions in the region.