Haniyeh set for talks with Ahmadinejad

PA prime minister to also meet supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Teheran.

Haniyeh iran 298.88 (photo credit: AP)
Haniyeh iran 298.88
(photo credit: AP)
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh arrived in Teheran on Thursday for talks with Iranian leaders including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, state-run media reported. Haniyeh is on his first tour abroad since his Hamas-led government took office in March. The Palestinian prime minister also will meet with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Iran has provided the Hamas-led Palestinian government with US$120 million (€90.4 million) this year, increasing its aid to the militant group and boosting its influence among Palestinians amid a US-led financial boycott of the Palestinian government. The United States is pressing Hamas to recognize Israel, renounce violence and form a national unity government with the moderate Fatah party in a bid to revive the peace process with Israel. Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map."