Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, the Palestinian armed faction at war with Israel, was recently reported by foreign media to have met with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
According to local Iranian media on the 4th (local time), Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas' political bureau based in Lebanon, stated that Haniyeh visited Tehran, the capital of Iran, a few days ago for talks.
However, the specific details of the conversation between Khamenei and Haniyeh have not been disclosed. Haniyeh's visit was conducted secretly, and the exact timing of his stay in Tehran remains unclear.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's Foreign Minister, exchanged views with Haniyeh over the past few weeks regarding the Israel-Hamas war. Iran, the leader of the Islamic Shia faction, has long supported Hamas, and there have been speculations that Iran was involved in Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on the 7th of last month.
Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said on the 25th of last month, "Before the war began, Iran directly supported Hamas through training, weapons and funding, and technology provision." On the other hand, the Iranian government has stated that it is not involved in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Meanwhile, Al-Aqsa Radio, operated by Hamas, reported on the 4th that "an Israeli drone attacked Haniyeh's house in the Gaza Strip." According to the Arab media outlet Al Jazeera, Haniyeh has been living outside the Gaza Strip since 2019, moving between Turkiye and Qatar.
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