TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei received Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal and his accompanying delegation here on Monday.

During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei said that Hamas owed its recent victories to the resistance of the Palestinian nation, adding that Palestinians voted for Hamas in the knowledge that it signified they had chosen the path of resistance against the Zionist regime.

The Leader also observed that the Hamas victory in the parliamentary election was a sweet divine blessing, adding that in a situation where it seemed that all doors were closed to the Palestinian nation, the Palestinians did not lose hope and continued their jihad, proving to the world that they are a politically aware nation.

Pointing to the recent remarks of Khaled Mashaal, who has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Zionist regime and insisted that Palestinian refugees must be allowed to return and that a Palestinian state with Beit-ul-Moqaddas as its capital will be established, Ayatollah Khamenei said that these are the red lines of Hamas, adding that the principles of Hamas are quite clear and they can only succeed by observing all these red lines.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader said that the responsibilities of Muslim nations are very serious as far as the Palestine crisis is concerned.

The grounds should be prepared through proper planning so that all the Muslims in the world can help solve this very significant problem of the Islamic world, he added.

Planning for Muslims’ annual financial assistance to Palestine is one of the ways Islamic nations can help resolve the problem, he said.

“Besides creating an intellectual connection between the rest of the world’s Muslims and the Palestinians, this financial assistance will also greatly influence the entire world,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

For his part, the Hamas political leader expressed gratitude for the Islamic Republic’s reasonable stances toward the Palestine issue and called the Hamas victory a victory for all Islamic nations.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran definitely shares this victory with the Palestinians, and the Palestinian nation also congratulates the Iranian nation on this victory as well,” Mashaal said.

He noted that the Palestinian nation have a good understanding of the situation in their country and thus voted for Islam, resistance, and reforms.

Despite all the economic and political pressure imposed on the Palestinian nation, particularly by the United States and the Zionist regime, Hamas will never renounce its principles and red lines and will establish an independent state with the help of the Palestinian nation and Islamic countries, Mashaal said.