“You defeated the Zionist regime [Israel], which was, in fact, America’s defeat,” Khamenei, whose country supports Hamas in its war with Israel, told the Palestinian delegation.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with senior Hamas members on Saturday. The meeting is one of the most recent high-profile gatherings by the ayatollah, and it reflects Iran’s view that the terrorist group was victorious in the 15-month war with Israel, which began with the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023. “Palestine will emerge victorious against its enemies,” Khamenei said, according to Iranian state media.
Muhammad Ismail Darwish, chairman of Hamas’s Shura Council, and Khalil al-Hayya, deputy chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, were in Iran this weekend. They usually live in Qatar, a major non-NATO ally of the US. Hamas members have flown between Doha and Tehran in the past and can often meet openly in Qatar with Iranian officials.
Darwish and other Hamas officials were seen in photos distributed by the Iranian regime during their meeting with Khamenei. The ayatollah said the people of Gaza defeated “the Zionist regime, and in fact, America, and didn’t let them reach any of their goals,” Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported.
Iranian media noted that the country believes post-war Gaza will be run “entirely by the Palestinian people.” This report came on Saturday after Hamas released three Israeli hostages – Or Levy, Ohad Ben-Ami, and Eli Sharabi – who appeared emaciated. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that they “look like Holocaust survivors.”
Coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing Brig.-Gen. (Res.) Gal Hirsch said, “The State of Israel views with grave concern the repeated violations of Hamas, and with even greater concern the condition of the three hostages released this morning. This will not go unaddressed. The message was conveyed to the mediators, and measures will be taken accordingly.”
Meanwhile, Iran hosted Hamas officials. Iranian media noted that the meeting came during the “fifth prisoner exchange with Israel.”
Hamas’s future in the Gaza Strip
Hamas clearly believes it will run Gaza and is not afraid of either Israeli claims or US President Donald Trump’s plan that was released when he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. Hamas is bragging in Gaza that “we are a storm…We are the post-war day,” according to a statement the terrorist group placed on a poster during the latest hostage release.
Hamas also claims that it abides by “human values and the provisions of international humanitarian law.” This is in contrast to how the hostages appeared on Saturday. Hamas is clearly aware of this and is spreading propaganda.
“Hamas reiterated that the Palestinian people stood firm against the occupiers and rejected any plans by Israel and its ally, the United States, to forcibly displace Gazans from their homeland,” Iranian state media reported. “The absolute victory that war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu and the occupying army sought for 471 days was an illusion that has been shattered forever,” Hamas said.
The Iranian high-level meeting with Hamas officials is supposed to show that Iran and Hamas will continue to coordinate. It is designed to respond to Trump’s assertions.