Iran hails Hamas victory

IranMania.com:

Iran congratulated the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas for its election victory and praised voters for choosing "to continue the struggle and resistance against occupation". "The Islamic Republic of Iran congratulates Hamas and all the Palestinian soldiers and the great Islamic people," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said in a statement faxed to AFP.

Iran and Hamas are close allies and declared last month that they represented a "united front" against Israel. READ MORE

"The Palestinians have voted for the resistance and have shown their loyalty," Asefi said, telling "the allies of the Zionist regime to closely examine the evolution of the region and open their eyes to the undisputable realities of the Middle East.

"The result of these elections will reinforce the unity of the Palestinian people in defending their rights. The massive participation of the Palestinians shows their will to continue the struggle and resistance against occupation."

The statement also hit out at at the United States, which views Hamas as a terrorist group, as "only accepting election results which guarantee the objectives and interests" of Washington.

Although Iran is a vocal supporter of Hamas, Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, the regime denies allegations it finances these groups.

But on December 15, Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal said during a visit to Tehran that his group would step up attacks against Israel if the Jewish state takes military action against Iran over its disputed nuclear programme.

"Just as Islamic Iran defends the rights of the Palestinians, we defend the rights of Islamic Iran. We are part of a united front against the enemies of Islam," Meshaal said.

"Each member of this front defends itself with its own means in its region. We carry the battle in Palestine. If Israel launches an attack against Iran, we will expand the battlefield in Palestine," he said.

"We are part of a united front, and if one member of this front is attacked it is our duty to support them," he added, praising Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his "courageous" anti-Israeli stance.

On January 20, Ahmadinejad visited Damascus and met with the leaders of 10 radical Palestinian movements, including Islamic Jihad and Hamas. He said he "strongly supports the Palestinian people's struggle".

The meeting came one day after Islamic Jihad claimed a suicide attack in Tel Aviv that wounded 19 people. Israel blamed Tehran and Damascus for supporting the attack.

Since sweeping to power in last June's election, Ahmadinejad has embarked on an all-out verbal assault against Israel, which Iran has long refused to recognise.

He has labelled the Jewish state as a "tumour" that should be "wiped off the map" or moved as far away as Alaska, and has branded the Holocaust a "myth".