Hamas, Iran leaders to boost cooperation after ‘historic victory’ against Israel

Iran warns of ‘far-reaching consequences’ against Israel if its ‘war crimes and genocide’ are not stopped

The warning follows Iran-backed Hezbollah’s clashes with Israel across the Lebanese border in the past week

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Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh meets with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran on June 20, 2023. Photo: AP

Published: 12:53pm, 15 Oct 2023

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has met with Iran’s foreign minister in Qatar, where they discussed the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack in Israel “and agreed to continue cooperation” to achieve the group’s goals, Hamas said in a statement.

During their meeting in Qatar’s capital Doha on Saturday, Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian praised the rampage as a “historic victory” that had dealt a setback to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

Iran warned in a social media post on Saturday that if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” are not stopped then the situation could spiral out of control with “far-reaching consequences”.

The post on X by Iran’s mission to the UN came after Axios reported that Tehran had warned Israel - in a message sent via the UN - that it would have to respond if Israel carries out a ground offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

“If the Israeli apartheid’s war crimes & genocide are not halted immediately, the situation could spiral out of control & ricochet far-reaching consequences - the responsibility of which lies with the UN, the Security Council & the states steering the Council toward a dead end,” Iran’s UN mission posted.

Israel was preparing on Saturday to launch a ground assault against Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip, after telling Palestinians living in the densely populated territory to flee south towards a closed border with Egypt.

Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in retaliation for an attack by the Palestinian Islamist group a week ago. Hamas stormed Israeli towns, killing 1,300 people and seizing scores of hostages - the worst attack on civilians in Israel’s history.

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