Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday praised the propaganda efforts of Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza and urged Hamas and other groups to take more action in this regard.
“The propaganda and media activities of the Palestinian resistance have been very good so far, and ahead of the Zionist enemy [Israel], and more action should be taken in this field,” Khamenei said following a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to an official readout.
Khamenei also paid tribute to Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas deputy politburo chief and commander of its operations in Judea and Samaria, who was killed in an alleged Israeli Air Force strike near Beirut on Jan. 2.
Haniyeh “conveyed his gratitude and appreciation for the support extended by both the populace and government of the Islamic Republic of Iran towards the Palestinian cause,” Khamenei’s office said.
“The war in Gaza is a world war, and the U.S. governing body is the main accomplice of the Zionist crimes as it is in charge of guiding the military operations of the Zionist regime,” Haniyeh said.
The Hamas terrorist leader touched down in Tehran earlier on Tuesday to meet with Khamenei, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other senior officials.
Raisi told Haniyeh that “the people of the world hate the Zionist criminal regime and the U.S. as its main supporter with all their heart, and they love the oppressed people of Gaza,” the regime’s IRNA outlet reported.
The Iranian president, who has repeatedly vowed to destroy Israel, accused the “false and criminal Zionist regime” of being an “anti-peace entity” responsible for the “root of all insecurities in the region.”
At a press conference following the meeting with Amir-Abdollahian, Haniyeh said Israel is facing isolation, pointing to Monday’s U.N. Security Council resolution demanding a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
“Although this resolution came late and there may be some gaps that need to be filled, the resolution itself indicates that the occupation [Israel] is experiencing unprecedented political isolation,” he said.
Haniyeh added that Israel is “losing political cover and protection even in the Security Council” and that “the U.S. is unable to impose its will on the international community.”
Israel has underscored Iranian support for Hamas since the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 invasion. As many as 500 men affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad trained in the Islamic Republic leading up to the cross-border attack, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Tehran’s terrorist proxy Hezbollah has been carrying out daily attacks against Israel from Lebanon in support of Hamas and Iran since Oct. 8.