Damascus-based Hamas leader heads delegation in effort to garner support for group in Middle East.
By JPOST.COM STAFFahmadinejad mashaal 248 88(photo credit: AP [file])
Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal arrived in Iran early Sunday morning, Reuters reported.
Mashaal, along with a high-level Hamas delegation, will reportedly meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an effort to garner support for his group in the Middle East.
According to the report, the other five delegation members were also part of the Hamas politburo, which Mashaal heads.
Last week, meanwhile, Mashaal called on the world to engage in dialogue with the Islamic group.
"For three years, [the world has] been trying to rid themselves of Hamas, they imposed a blockade on Gaza. The time has come to talk to us," Mashaal said during a speech in Damascus.
Mashaal described the recent IDF campaign in Gaza, which targeted Hamas terrorists, as the "first real war that our people have won," stressing that "Hamas and the resistance movements played an honorable role."
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