TEL AVIV — An advisor to Iran’s foreign minister has promised to deliver anything requested by Hamas in the Gaza Strip during an interview with the pro-Iranian Lebanese television station Al Mayadeen.
“Hamas will get any help it requests,” Sheikh Hussein al-Islam said in the interview, adding that relations between the two sides are currently positive, “especially after Hamas elected a smart leadership born from the soul of the resistance.”
According to al-Islam, “This is a leadership that everyone respects and we’re counting on it to advance relations with them.”
He added that Hamas continues to be part of the axis of resistance in the region “and it will be present in any future conflict with Israel.”
The Iranian official noted that, besides Iran, “There are no others that support Hamas, not by one bullet.”
“Hamas can count on us,” he continued. “It has all the characters we want and it highlights the position of the resistance and the desire to free all of Palestine. … What matters to us is that Hamas strengthens the line of the resistance, supports it and supports the mindset of freeing all of Palestine.”
The Iranian advisor also spewed anti-Semitic conspiracies, saying, “In the face of global condescension and global Zionism, we are in the axis of the resistance. No one is closer to Iran than Hamas in all regards to removing the cancerous growth, Israel. We can depend on Hamas.”
According to al-Islam, recent meetings with a Hamas delegation focused on general issues of mutual interest. “We are never displeased with Hamas’ positions. There are two sides in the world: the side of condescension that includes America, Israel, the terrorist organizations and some of the Arab regimes, and on the other side is Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraq and Lebanon.”
One of the driving forces behind the growing ties between Iran and Hamas seems to be the economic crisis gripping the group in Gaza.
Over the past few months, the Iranians have reduced their payments to the organization due to their dissatisfaction with Hamas’ warming ties with the Egyptian-Saudi bloc in the region. This has created a situation in which members of Hamas’ so-called military wing have not received or only partially received salaries in the last three months.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, denied that recent improvements in relations with Egypt have come at the expense of relations with Qatar.
Sinwar’s denial comes even as relations between Hamas and Egypt continue to improve and Hamas maintains connections with the United Arab Emirates.
The Hamas chief’s office released a statement denying he made the comments and saying that Hamas’ relations with Qatar are still positive.