TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian spoke over the phone on Tuesday evening with Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh congratulating him on the founding anniversary of the Hamas resistance movement.

Amir Abdollahian reaffirmed the Islamic Republic’s continued support for the resistance of the Palestinian people, the Iranian foreign ministry said. 

The Iranian foreign minister described the Hamas resistance movement as a pioneer in the liberation of the holy city of Quds, saying, “Today, the resistance plays a pivotal role in realizing the historical rights of the Palestinian people”.

Amir Abdollahian referred to the British government’s recent move to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist group, describing the decision as politically-motivated and against the Palestinian people.

He added, “The fake Zionist regime is the mother of all calamities and the root-cause of problems in the region and, therefore, the few regional countries that move toward normalizing ties with this fabricated regime are acting against the security and interests of the region and the Muslim ummah”.

The Hamas political bureau chief also thanked Amir Abdollahian for congratulating the anniversary of the movement’s establishment and hailed the noble personality of martyr General Qassem Soleimani. 

“We remember General Soleimani with honor and we appreciate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for the Palestinian cause and resistance all through the years following the Islamic Revolution’s victory,” Haniyeh said.

Hanieyh also condemned the move by some regional countries to normalize ties with the Zionist regime, calling it an American-Zionist approach. He said, “We did not like the doors of Arab countries to be opened to the Zionist murderers who have the blood of the Palestinian people on their hands.”

The head of the Hamas political bureau said the Zionist regime’s infiltration into the region will cause insecurity and instability and poses a threat to the Palestinian cause and the whole Islamic ummah. Haniyeh added that this strategy is doomed to failure because the will of regional nations is stronger and can beat such approaches.

At the end of the telephone conversation, Haniyeh extended his and the Palestinian people’s warm greetings to the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the Iranian president.

Hamas also issued a statement on the call. “His Excellency the Iranian minister said that Hamas is one of the leading movements in the resistance to liberate Palestine, and it has a decisive and prominent role on the path of the Palestinian people achieving their goals and obtaining their inalienable rights. He affirmed that the Islamic Republic of Iran would continue to provide support and resistance to the Palestinian people, in order to achieve our all wish for the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem,” the Hamas statement said.

According to the statement, Amir Abdollahian condemned the British decision to designate Hamas as terrorist group, considering it an inhuman political step against the Palestinian people that coincided with the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, and both are against justice and human rights.

The statement added that he Iranian foreign minister stressed that the siege of Gaza will end at the hands of the resistance and with the support of the nation, considering that the battle of the Sword of Jerusalem demonstrated the ability and vitality of the resistance, saying, “Jerusalem is alive and the resistance is alive.”

Hamas noted, “In a related development, he strongly condemned the visit of the Israeli Prime Minister to the United Arab Emirates, describing the visit as a disgrace to our region, and considering normalization a strategic threat to Palestine and the Ummah.

For his part, Haniyeh expressed his appreciation and thanks for the call and congratulations on the launch of the resistance movement, stressing that Hamas, since its first day, has constituted a lever and a qualitative addition to the resistance, and a cornerstone of the opposition on the road to restoring “our rights” in Palestine and Jerusalem.

He said for 34 years, the movement has offered hundreds of heroic and righteous martyrs, led by the founder Sheikh, the martyr Ahmed Yassin, considering that all of this is easy for the sake of Palestine and Jerusalem.

The movement's leader stressed that the fulcrum of Hamas is based on the comprehensive resistance program in all its forms, especially the armed resistance, and expressed his thanks and appreciation for Iran's role in supporting the Palestinian people and their resistance.

He pointed out that there is a current conspiracy that seeks to strike the pillars of the Palestinian cause simultaneously with attempts to penetrate the region through normalization, warning that America is trying to formulate a new Middle East and build security and military alliances trying to make the Zionist entity dominant in the region.

He condemned the visit of the Prime Minister of the Zionist entity to the Emirates, and said, “We did not want the doors to be opened for them and red rugs to be laid for them.”

 He called for a retreat from this normalization.

Haniyeh also appreciated the Iranian position on the British decision, praising Iranian diplomacy in the face of such unjust decisions.

The call came after an unprecedented visit by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennet to the United Arab Emirates.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on Monday censured the visit by the Zionist regime’s prime minister to the UAE, strongly warning against any move that would strengthen the fake regime’s destructive and seditious presence in West Asia.

He said such acts disrupt security in the region and run contrary to the interests of the Islamic ummah and regional people as well as Arab countries.

Khatibzadeh reaffirmed the permanent and definite cause of the liberation of Holy Quds as the first qibla of world Muslims. He said regional people have not forgotten the heinous and hostile acts of the Zionist regime which are the root cause of all problems in the region. Khatibzadeh also said the region’s people will remain opposed to normalization of ties with this regime. 

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman added that welcoming the prime minister of an illegitimate regime which has been the root cause and creator of insecurity, tension and warmongering for more than 70 years in the territory of Arab and Muslim countries will linger in the historical memory of the Palestinian people, regional nations and the freedom-seeking people of the world.

In the end, Khatibzadeh stressed that the Zionist regime is the arch-foe of the Islamic world and Arab countries and no normalization move will stifle the lofty cause of Palestine.