Islam Times - Hamas in Pact with Iran Over New Ties, Haniyeh to Visit Tehran

Islam Times - The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas says it has reached an agreement with Iran to open a new chapter in mutual ties.

In a statement on Monday, Hamas said the new pact is meant to boost the resistance against the Israeli regime and support Palestine, the al-Aqsa Mosque and the resistance movement.

Hamas said said a delegation of the movement, headed by a member of Hamas' political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, was in Tehran to attend the Saturday swearing-in ceremony of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. On the sidelines of the ceremony, it held talks with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday.

According to the statement, Zarif said the Palestinian issue was important in the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy and stressed the importance of improving relations with the Palestinian resistance groups, particularly Hamas.

The statement said the Iranian foreign minister had also emphasized that Tehran pursued an unchangeable stance on the Palestinian issue and the resistance movement.

It said Rishq, for his part, commended Iran’s support for the Palestinian people and their resistance against the Israeli regime.

The Hamas official said the Palestinian movement believed that Muslim countries must reinforce their unity and use their capacities to counter the Israeli regime as the common enemy, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Hamas Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh is expected to visit Iran in the near future, the movement's representative in Lebanon Ali Barakah said on Monday.

Speaking to Donia Al-Watan Newspaper, Barakah said that the relations between Hamas and Iran has returned to the level of six years ago.

Iran and Hamas relations soured six years ago because of their different stance towards regional developments including the Syria crisis.