Salah al-Aruri, the deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau and a sanctioned terrorist, stressed on Tuesday that the group and Iran have agreed to set aside their past differences.
Aruri is currently in Tehran, where he is leading a high-ranking Hamas delegation discussing the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation deal with Iranian leaders.
“We have come (to Iran) to show that differences are now history. We have made a major agreement not to allow the differences leave negative impact on our bilateral ties in a bid to enable ourselves leave obstacles behind,” Aruri said in an interview with the Iranian media on Tuesday, as quoted by the semiofficial Iranian Fars news agency.
“Our relations with Iran don’t harm any other governments, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others,” he added.
“We will welcome any of these nations or governments which supports our cause and our nation,” stressed Aruri.
The visit of the Hamas delegation to Iran appears to mark the end of the disconnect between the sides, which began when Hamas refused to support Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, a close ally of Iran’s, in the uprising against him. An angry Iran then reportedly stopped supplying the terror group with weapons.
This past summer, however, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh thanked Iran for its “unlimited” support for the Al-Qassam Brigades and its contribution to the development of Hamas’s military capabilities, an indication that the rift was over.
The delegation’s visit to Tehran also shows that the group is blatantly ignoring Israel’s demand that it cut off ties with Tehran or Israel will not recognize any unity Palestinian government.
Fars noted that on Saturday, Iranian Supreme Leader’s top adviser for international affairs, Ali Akbar Velayati, praised Hamas for insisting on continued armed struggle against “the Israeli occupation.”
“We congratulate you for declaring that you will not set your weapons aside and for describing it as your red line,” Velayati said, adding that he welcomes meetings with ‘resistance group’ officials, especially Hamas.
Source » israelnationalnews