Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has briefed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, at a time when Israel warned the US of harsh consequences if attacks continue on Gaza.
Iran's Tasnim news agency said the country's top authority Khamenei "emphasized Tehran's consistent policy of supporting the Palestinian resistance forces against the Zionist occupiers".
Haniyeh briefed Khamenei on the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza, as well as the developments in the West Bank, the office of Khamenei said.
"Ayatollah Khamenei praised the steadfastness and resilience of the people of Gaza and expressed strong regret over the crimes of the Zionist regime, supported directly by Washington and some Western countries," Iran's state TV said.
The Supreme Leader urged the comprehensive and practical support of Islamic governments for the people of Gaza.
Othman Hamdan, the representative of Hamas in Lebanon, said earlier that Hanieh arrived in the Iranian capital a few days ago to hold talks.
Last week, Khamenei called for ceasing oil and food exports to Israel.
For his part, the representative of the Iranian leader in the Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, called for backing the resistance through the “soft powers”, according to ISNA.
IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency quoted Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani, Iran's Minister of Defense, as saying "our advice to the Americans is to immediately halt the war in Gaza and implement a ceasefire, otherwise they will be hit hard."
The US accused Iranian-backed armed factions in the region of conducting attacks by drones and missiles in Syria and Iraq. The US responded by striking sites in Syria.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced last Saturday that sending the United States a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean comes within the framework of “deterring hostile actions against Israel or any efforts to expand the war”.
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Saturday that the US is incapable of fighting Hamas and that Israel fears fighting face-to-face with Palestinian fighters.
Shekarchi said the US aircraft carriers approached Israel to boost the Israeli military’s morale, according to Tasnim.
He noted that the NATO countries backed Israel after Operation Al-Aqsa Storm which was launched by Hamas on October 7.
He added that when these countries failed to face the small group of Hamas, they started targeting women, children, schools, and houses.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the attacks on US military bases in Iraq and Syria over the past days were not related to Iran. Washington may be targeted as the "main culprit" anywhere as it is "managing the conflict," he added.
Mohsen Hashemi, former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's son, said that the indirect involvement of Iran in the ongoing war in Gaza and the voluntary presence of Hezbollah could drag Iran to the battle.
Reformist activist Mohammadreza Jalaeipour told Mehr news agency that any truce in Gaza would positively affect the nuclear talks between the US and Iran. He praised the fact that Iran restricted its support to moral support and didn’t get involved in the war.
