Pompeo's Reaction to Khamenei's Statements on Helping the Palestinian People

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the Iranian government as 'morally corrupt' and stated that this government has 'provided hundreds of millions of dollars to terrorists who endanger the lives and property of Palestinians.' On Friday evening, September 6, in response to the remarks made by the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran during his meeting with the President of Turkey, Pompeo tweeted, 'Ayatollah Khamenei says he cares about the Palestinians.' Ali Khamenei, during his meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was in Tehran for a summit of the leaders of Iran, Russia, and Turkey regarding Syria, stated that the Palestinian issue is always important and 'should never be neglected, even for a moment.' However, according to Mike Pompeo, Iran has, from 2008 to about a decade later, 'punished the Palestinians with only $20,000 in aid through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),' while the U.S. has provided $6.3 billion in aid to the Palestinians since 1994. The U.S. Secretary of State also added, 'If the Ayatollahs' government had not banned social media in Iran, perhaps the Iranian people would realize who really cares about the Palestinians and why, while the Iranian people struggle with problems, the Islamic Republic spends their money on terrorists.' Nikki Haley, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, stated a few weeks ago that Iran did not give a single dollar to UNRWA in 2017. Last month, Donald Trump ordered the suspension of a $300 million U.S. aid package to UNRWA because, according to Washington, UNRWA has perpetuated the refugee status of several generations of Palestinians and has not helped resolve the issue. Mr. Trump also stated last Thursday that there would be no U.S. money to UNRWA until the Palestinians return to negotiations for a peace agreement with Israel. The Israeli internal security service, Shin Bet, reported this spring that Hamas's funds for instigating violence at the Gaza-Israel border were provided by Iran. Iran, which considers Hamas the 'true representative of the Palestinians,' has its main interactions with the Palestinians through Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other armed groups such as 'Saberin,' providing financial assistance to these groups. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, emphasized Tehran's continued determination to strengthen the groups known as 'the Resistance' in a letter to the commanders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad a few months ago. Ali Khamenei also wrote in response to a letter from Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, 'We consider it our duty to support you in any way' and 'we will continue to fulfill this duty as in the past.'