US President Donald Trump surprised many parties after announcing on Monday that Iran was involved in negotiations aimed at arranging a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas.
"Gaza right now is in the midst of a massive negotiation between us and Hamas and Israel, and Iran actually is involved, and we'll see what's going to happen with Gaza. We want to get the hostages back," Trump said.
The United States has proposed a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel said it would abide by the terms but Hamas thus far has rejected the plan.
Under the proposal 28 Israeli hostages - alive and dead - would be released in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians.
The United States and Iran are also separately trying to negotiate a deal on Tehran's nuclear program.
Despite Trump’s claims on Monday, Hamas sources denied Iran having a role in the negotiations aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip.
A senior Hamas official, who was not identified, told Asharq Al-Awsat that "Iran has not intervened directly in the negotiations in any way, nor has it asked the (Palestinian) movement to make any concessions or exerted pressure on it."
The source explained that Iran’s connection to the negotiations is "primarily related to following up on the negotiations, by being informed about whether an agreement is near, without being involved in further details."
The source also stressed that the information shared with Iran is also shared with "some countries and Palestinian factions, including Fatah at times, especially when there are serious steps that could lead to a near agreement."
Other Hamas sources also denied any Iranian role in the negotiations, saying "Tehran does not have close relations with Israel or the United States that would allow it to intervene, despite the ongoing (nuclear) negotiations between it and the US administration."
When Asharq Al-Awsat asked several Hamas sources whether the United States had asked Iran to pressure the movement to change its positions, the sources unanimously responded that they "had no knowledge of such a matter."
Israeli sources have also been quick to deny any Iranian role in the negotiations to end the Gaza war, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
