Meeting of IRGC Commanders with Leaders of Iran's Proxy Groups on the Sidelines of Raisi's Funeral

Senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) met with leaders of Tehran's allied proxy groups who attended the funeral of the President and Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic in Tehran. Hossein Salami, the IRGC's commander-in-chief, and Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, participated in the meeting alongside leaders from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah, Houthi leadership, and leaders of Shia groups from Iraq. This meeting appears to have taken place on Thursday, June 3. All these groups aligned with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been engaged in operations against Israel since the onset of the Gaza war. In addition to the Israeli army's conflict with the extremist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah has also entered a military campaign against Israel to 'support' Gaza. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. According to ISNA news agency, the meeting in Tehran discussed the 'latest political, social, and military situation in Gaza and the Al-Aqsa Flood operation and the role of the resistance front,' emphasizing 'the continuation of jihad and struggle until the complete victory of Palestinian resistance in Gaza with the participation of all groups and fronts of resistance in the region.' Israel and the United States accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran of being the main financial and military supporter of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other proxy groups in the Middle East. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth referred to the IRGC commanders' meeting with allied group leaders as a 'gathering of the axis of evil' in Tehran on the sidelines of the memorial ceremony for Iranian officials killed in a helicopter crash. Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas's political bureau outside the Palestinian territories, was the speaker at the funeral of the Iranian officials before foreign delegations and other attendees in Tehran on Wednesday. Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also met separately with Ismail Haniyeh and a delegation of Hamas leaders on Wednesday, telling them that the promise of establishing a Palestinian state 'from the river to the sea' and the destruction of Israel is achievable.