GAZA (Dispatches) – Hamas said Sunday the Palestinian resistance group’s choice of Iran as the first destination for foreign visit since a reconciliation agreement with Fatah signifies special relations which exist between the two sides.
The deputy head of Hamas Saleh Arouri arrived in Tehran Friday night for talks with Iranian officials, during which he vowed to keep close ties with the Islamic Republic.
"The visit can open a new chapter in relations between the Islamic Republic and Hamas,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen television on Sunday.
The visit, he said, is aimed at briefing allies on the recent developments in the Palestinian territories, most importantly the reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah.
The Hamas spokesman said the visit to Tehran shows that the Palestinian resistance movement is interested in developing ties with Islamic Republic.
Disagreements between the two sides have been resolved and they are discussing to step up support the Palestinian cause which Abu Zuhri called Iran’s distinctive feature.
Relations between Hamas and Tehran took a nosedive after the group refused to support Syria’s fight against foreign-backed militants and Takfiri terrorists.
Abu Zuhri underlined that the Palestinian reconciliation agreement will not damage good relations between Hamas and its allies, adding Hamas will ally with all sides that support the Palestinian cause.
On Saturday, Arouri told the Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani that Hamas will never give up its arms as demanded by the occupying regime of Israel.
The Zionist regime said on Tuesday it would not hold negotiations with a Palestinian government dependent on Hamas and demanded that Hamas recognize Israel, disarm, and sever its ties with Iran.
"Our presence in Iran is the practical denial of the third pre-condition -- cutting ties with Iran,” Arouri said earlier, quoted by Iran’s Fars news agency.
"We congratulate you for declaring that you will not set your weapons aside and for describing it as your red line,” Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to the Leader, told Arouri.
In a separate meeting Saturday, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, expressed hope that Hamas would continue to be a "central pioneer of the Palestinian resistance.”
During the meeting, Shamkhani condemned American and Israeli attempts to remove the Palestinian issue from the international agenda.
"The U.S. and the Zionist regime feel threatened by any balance shift in the Middle East in favor of regional people and governments engaged in the fight against terrorism,” Shamkhani said. "They seek to obstruct the path of anti-terrorism fight by bringing up unfounded pretexts such as blocking Iran’s regional sway.”
Arouri thanked Iran for its patronage and noted that senior officials in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were interested in expanding ties with Tehran.
Velayati said Teheran would be increasing its support for Palestinian resistance groups.
"We want to prove to the Zionist entity that strategic relations between Iran and the Palestinian resistance, represented by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, will not ever be served. Rather, Iran’s support for the resistance will increase day by day,” he said.