Hamas says its Iran ties worsen over Syrian civil war

Hamas said on Wednesday its relations with financial backer Iran have suffered as a result of the Islamist group's support of rebels battling Syrian President Bashar Assad, a long-time Iranian ally.

Hamas was also once an Assad ally but last year endorsed the revolt against him in a shift that deprived the Syrian leader of an important Sunni Muslim supporter in the Arab world. "Our relations with Iran were affected both on the political and the financial levels," said Ghazi Hamad, deputy minister of foreign affairs in the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip. (Reuters)