Iran state news agency says Khamenei met with Hamas leader Haniyeh

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported on Sunday, without specifying the date of the meeting.

During their meeting, Haniyeh briefed Khamenei on the latest developments in Gaza, including Israel’s “crimes” in the Palestinian territory, as well as developments in the West Bank, IRNA reported.

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Khamenei “expressed appreciation for the resilience of the people of Gaza and expressed regret” over what he described as Israeli “crimes,” which he said were supported by the United States and some Western nations, according to IRNA.

Khamenei also “emphasized Iran’s permanent policy of supporting the Palestinian resistance forces against the Zionist occupiers,” it added.

This marks the first known meeting between Khamenei and Haniyeh since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hamas on October 7. Their previous reported meeting was in June.

The latest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began when Hamas militants crossed into Israel from its southern border on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials. Retaliatory attacks by Israel on Gaza have killed more than 9,700 people, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.

Tehran, a key source of financial and military support for Hamas, praised the October 7 Hamas attack while denying any involvement in its planning or execution.

Israel has long accused Iran of exacerbating violence by supplying arms to Hamas. Tehran refuses to recognize Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a fundamental component of its foreign policy since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Iran and Israel have for years engaged in a covert conflict, with Iran accusing Israel of orchestrating sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear program.

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