Leaders of Iran’s allied militias meet in Tehran

Leaders of the Iranian-led “Axis of Resistance”, including Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah’s Naeem Qasim, held a meeting in Tehran to discuss ongoing developments in Gaza, state media reported on Thursday. war going on. The meeting took place during the funeral of President Ibrahim Raisi.

The “axis of resistance” is made up of Iran’s regional allies against Israel, including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Iraqi Shiite armed groups.

The leaders met on Wednesday after attending the funeral of Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in northwest Iran on Sunday.

The meeting was attended by important figures such as Hamas political bureau chief in Qatar, Haniyeh, Hezbollah deputy Naim Qassem and Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam. Haniyeh had previously met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian officials in attendance included Gen. Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Gen. Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, which handles foreign operations for the Revolutionary Guards.

They discussed the latest developments in Gaza, including Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and the role of the resistance front, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. The meeting stressed that jihad and struggle will continue until the Palestinian resistance in Gaza achieves a complete victory and that all resistance groups in the region should participate.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar channel reported the meeting and included photos. Iran’s Fars News Agency noted that representatives of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and various Iraqi organizations attended the meeting.

Since the war in Gaza broke out last October, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian – who was killed in a helicopter crash – has increased his visits to the region, focusing on Lebanon and Syria.

Although Iran is a major backer of Hamas, it has always denied involvement in the Palestinian group’s October 7 attack on Israel.