Traffic of 'Terrorist Group' Leaders in Iran; Nakhaleh Meets with Khamenei, Raisi, and Qalibaf

Following the visit of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of the Palestinian group Hamas, Ziad Nakhaleh, Secretary-General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, traveled to Tehran and met with Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and other officials of the Islamic Republic. Islamic Jihad and Hamas are two groups supported by the Islamic Republic that are listed as terrorist organizations by the United States and several other countries worldwide. Khamenei, who hosted Ismail Haniyeh two days earlier at his residence, met with Nakhaleh on the ninth day of the year 1403 and told him, 'You will witness the ultimate victory of the people of Gaza.' The Supreme Leader also told the Secretary-General of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, 'The resistance forces are victorious in the field so far, and the peak of dignity and steadfastness of the people of Gaza and Palestine, along with Israel's failures in this war, is a divine incident and phenomenon.' While Khamenei considers Palestinian groups to be 'victorious in the war in Gaza,' Hamas-affiliated institutions report that over 30,000 people in Gaza have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, and all infrastructure in the strip has been destroyed. Israel claims that more than 13,000 of the deceased were Hamas-affiliated militants. After visiting Khamenei's residence, Nakhaleh met with Ebrahim Raisi, the President of the thirteenth government of the Islamic Republic, and expressed gratitude for the 'unwavering support of the Islamic Republic for Palestinian groups,' stating, 'This unparalleled support, in addition to boosting the morale and motivation of Palestinian fighters, carries the important message that the Palestinian nation is not alone in its struggle against the enemy.' On Farvardin 9, the Secretary-General of 'Palestinian Islamic Jihad' also visited Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and thanked him for the unconditional cooperation of the Islamic Republic with Palestinian organizations, saying, 'There is no near horizon for reaching an agreement in the negotiations with Israel. We face challenges that the supports of the Islamic Republic, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and our brothers in Yemen will resolve, and with this backing, we will certainly not surrender.' The visits of the leaders of the 'terrorist' groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad to Tehran occur just as it seems that Israel has halted ceasefire negotiations in Qatar following the recent rejection of Hamas's proposal. Islamic Republic officials quickly supported Hamas following the terrorist attack on October 15 against southern Israel, which left about 1,200 dead, but they did not take any responsibility for involvement in this attack. Many countries around the world, including the United States, Israel, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, have listed the Islamist militant group Hamas, which is supported by the Islamic Republic, as a terrorist organization.