Hamas leader Haniyeh visits Iran: state media

TEHRAN (AFP): Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Iranian officials, state media reported, a day after the UN Security Council called for a ceasefire in the group’s war with Israel.

“Hamas bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, during his trip to Tehran on Tuesday, will meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian,” Iran’s official IRNA news agency said, adding that he will also meet with other senior officials.

It is the second visit the Hamas leader has made to Tehran since the Iran-backed group launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 which resulted in the deaths of some 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Haniyeh’s last visit was in early November when he met Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as well as other officials.

Iran hailed the October 7 attack as a “success” but denied any direct involvement.

Iran-backed groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen have since carried out a flurry of attacks on Israeli and Western targets.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed more than 32,000 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Haniyeh’s visit comes after a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on Monday called for an “immediate ceasefire” for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, leading to a “lasting” truce.

It also demanded that Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups release hostages they took during the October 7 attack.

Militants seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes some 130 are still held in Gaza, including 33 presumed dead.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani described Monday’s resolution as a “positive but insufficient step.” He called for “effective measures to implement the resolution and the complete and permanent cessation of attacks.”