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Mottaki
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Iran says not favoring Hamas

Foreign Minister Mottaki urges all faction to engage in unconditional dialogue and

Iran's foreign minister on Thursday denied that Tehran is favouring Hamas over Fatah in the crisis gripping the Palestinian territories. "Iran is on the side of the unity of the Palestinian forces," Manouchehr Mottaki told a press conference at the end of a visit to Qatar.

 

Iran, he added, "is not supporting one group of Palestinians against the other" and urged all factions to engage in unconditional dialogue to resolve the crisis.

 

Palestinian intelligence chief Tawfiq al-Tirawi charged on Sunday that Iran had played a "big role" in Hamas's seizure of Gaza from Palestinian security forces on June 15.

 

"According to our information, Iran has played a big role in what happened in Gaza. Dozens of members of Hamas have been trained in Iran, and Hamas smuggled in weapons through tunnels not to fight Israel but against the Palestinian Authority," Tirawi told a news conference.

 

"The whole plan has been carried out in coordination with Iran, and Iran has been informed of every step," he added.

 

The Islamists dismissed the accusation as "lies" while sacked prime minister Ismail Haniya retorted that it was elements within Fatah that had orchestrated the crisis at the behest of foreign powers.

 

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini too hit back at the allegations, insisting that Tehran, unlike Egypt's Western allies and Israel, had been careful not to fan the factional conflict.

 

"It is surprising that some Arab countries ignore the Western countries, the United States and the Zionist regime... and point an accusing finger at us who have had the most responsible approach," Hosseini said at the weekend.

 

Iran is one of the most vocal backers of the Islamic Resistance Movement and pledged millions of dollars in 2006 to help the Hamas government through a funding drought caused by Western aid cuts, due to Hamas' refusal to accept Quartet preconditions.

 

But Tehran has always insisted its support for Palestinian militant groups is moral in nature and does not extend to arming or training fighters.

 


פרסום ראשון: 06.28.07, 23:40
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