Hamas chief Khaled Mashal
Photo: AFP
Report: Hamas team in Iran for talks on ties
Iranian media says aim of visit was to clear way for mission by Hamas chief Khaled Mashal to mend strained ties between Hamas and Iran.
A delegation of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, arrived Monday for talks with Iranian officials on repairing ties, local media reported.
Tasnim news agency said the team was led by Hamas political bureau member Mohammed Nasr and included Ossama Hamdan, who is in charge of international relations.
The visit is aimed at clearing the way for a mission by Hamas chief Khaled Mashal, Amir Mousavi, the head of Tehran's Center of Strategic Research, said on the website of Hamas-linked Palestinian daily Al-Ressalah.
The Syrian conflict has strained ties between Hamas and Iran, with the Palestinian faction breaking ties with Damascus while Tehran has remained a strong ally of the regime.
Meshaal, in an interview with AFP in August, acknowledged differences over Syria but said their common enmity against Israel was a uniting factor.
Iran is reported to provide equipment for Palestinian fighters of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group in Gaza, to fire missiles at the Jewish state.
The US reportedly told a panel of eight experts advising a UN Security Council Committee on Iran there was overwhelming evidence Tehran was continuing its transfers of weapons to its proxies an allies.
Earlier this year, the Israeli Navy seized an Iranian shipment of rockets, mortars and other arms that was en route to Gaza via Sudan.
Islamic Jihad chief Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, during a visit to Tehran in October, praised Iran for its role during the Gaza conflict.
The 50-day war between Israel and militants in Gaza that ended on August 26 killed about 2,200 Palestinians, and 73 on the Israeli side, mostly soldiers.
