The Hamas delegation included acting Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya; Mohammad Darwish, head of Hamas’ leadership council; and Nizar Awadallah
Days after US President Donald Trump announced his intention to occupy the Gaza Strip, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei met senior leaders of Hamas in Tehran on Saturday, according to state media.
Despite the timing of the media, Iranian TV portrayed the meeting as regular. They said Hamas leaders were in Tehran to congratulate Khamenei for the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution of Iran of 1979.
“You defeated the Zionist regime [Israel], which was in fact America’s defeat. You did not allow them to achieve any of their goals,” Khamenei was quoted as telling Hamas leaders.
The Hamas delegation included acting Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya; Mohammad Darwish, head of Hamas’ leadership council; and Nizar Awadallah. They presented Khamenei a report on the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank and “the victories and successes that were achieved”.
“We come to meet with you today with pride,” Al-Hayya was quoted as telling Khamenei.
Hamas is part of what Iran calls ‘Axis of Resistance’. It is part of Iran-supported organisations in West Asia that are opposed to Israel. Iran and Hamas are both committed to the destruction of Israel. Khamenei was further quoted as saying that the US threats against Iran “have no effect on the mindset of our nation”.
The meeting came days after Trump said the United States would take over Gaza after the conclusion of the war and rebuild the enclave. In the most brazen policy statements in the longest time, he said that he intends to relocate all Palestinians outside of Gaza in neighbouring countries, such as Egypt or Jordan.
Separately, Trump has also reinstated the ‘maximum pressure’ strategy on Iran. At the same time, he has offered Iran to engage in talks to reach a nuclear agreement.
‘Negotiating with US will not solve problems’
Earlier, Khamenei said that negotiating with the United States will not solve Iran’s problems, describing such negotiations as “neither wise nor honourable,” according to the official news agency IRNA.
Iran’s past experience in negotiations with the United States had shown that it led to no meaningful results, Khamenei said during a meeting with senior Iranian military commanders.
“Even when we made concessions, we did not achieve the desired outcomes. They tore up the agreement and failed to honor their commitments,” he said.
Regarding US threats to Iran’s security, Khamenei stressed that Iran would respond firmly to any of such threats. “If they violate our national security, we will retaliate without hesitation,” he stated.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said it is not difficult to ensure that Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons, provided that “objective guarantees” are given to end hostile actions against Tehran, including economic sanctions.
He made the comments on social media platform X, responding to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump who reaffirmed his stance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and announced the restoration of the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
Ahead of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Trump signed a national security memorandum restoring maximum pressure on Iran, “denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, and countering Iran’s malign influence abroad.”
Araghchi criticised the “maximum pressure” as a failed approach, reiterating that its continuation would only result in “maximum resistance” from Iran.
The Iranian Foreign Minister emphasised that “wise leaders should opt for maximum diplomacy instead,” adding that Iran, as a full member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and other global nonproliferation agreements, has already made it clear that under no circumstances will it seek, develop or acquire nuclear weapons.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with six world powers in July 2015, accepting restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.
However, during Trump’s first term of office, the United States withdrew from the agreement in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions, prompting Iran to scale back some of its nuclear commitments.
Efforts to revive the JCPOA have not achieved substantial progress.
‘Iran never seeks to develop nuclear weapons’
Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed on Thursday that his country has never sought to develop nuclear weapons. He made the remarks at a ceremony in Tehran to mark the 46th anniversary of the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to a statement by his office.
The ceremony was attended by foreign ambassadors and representatives of international organisations in Iran’s capital. Pezeshkian said, “We do not seek (to develop) nuclear weapons. Iran’s (Supreme) Leader (Ali Khamenei) has explicitly declared this by issuing a fatwa (religious decree).”
Verifying that Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons is not difficult at all, he added, noting, “They (inspectors) have so far come and investigated it whenever they have wanted, and from now on, can come and check that again a hundred times. We will never go after developing nuclear weapons.”
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