The beautiful bond Haniyeh shared with Iran and Leader of the Islamic Revolution

By Humaira Ahad

The broad smile on the face of Ismail Haniyeh as he was warmly received by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei during their last meeting on July 30, a day before his assassination, flashed on television screens around the world.

The image provided a glimpse into the close and strong bond between the two of them. Haniyeh’s relationship with Ayatollah Khamenei and the Islamic Republic of Iran spanned decades and reached its climax with the Hamas political bureau leader’s martyrdom in the Iranian capital.

“Martyr Haniyeh was willing to sacrifice his honorable life in this dignified battle for many years. He was prepared for martyrdom and had sacrificed his children and loved ones on this path,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in his message of condolence for the Hamas leader.

“He was not afraid of being martyred on the path of God and in order to save the lives of God’s servants,” he hastened to add.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also vowed to avenge the blood of the “dear guest.”

Haniyeh saw Iran as all-weather friend

Haniyeh, who served as the political and diplomatic head of the Gaza-based resistance group, always publicly acknowledged the Islamic Republic’s unflinching support for the Palestinian cause.

In 2021, he said Hamas shares “a strategic relationship” with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as Hezbollah and other resistance groups in the region, adding that it is "no secret that Iran played a very important role in building the force that was seen during the Battle of the Sword of al Quds.”

He further said that Palestine’s relations with Iran are “strategic, stable, solid, evolving, ready to face major tasks, first and foremost of which is the cause of Palestine and Jerusalem, as well as to confront the American-Zionist plans in the region.”

Had it not been for Iran, Haniyeh noted, the Palestinian leadership would not have progressed.

“Let me reiterate that had it not been for Iran’s support for the resistance in Palestine, we would not have acquired these capabilities,” Haniyeh said at the time, pointing to the unshakeable bond.

“Indeed, our (Arab) nations have deserted us. Our nations have deserted us in the most difficult moments while Iran has supported us with weapons, equipment, and expertise.”

Following the Operation Al-Aqsa Storm in October 2023, the slain Hamas leader again acknowledged the “firm support of the Iranian leadership, the president, the government and the people of Iran.”

He praised Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian for his “valued” diplomatic efforts to stop Israel from continuing its genocidal crimes in Gaza.

 “We express our and that of the Palestinian nation’s heartfelt gratitude for these efforts.”

Haniyeh described “active diplomatic support of the Iranian foreign minister for the Palestinian issue and its people, especially during the ongoing Israeli war against Gaza,” as praiseworthy.

The Palestinian resistance leader, who shared a close relationship with the top Iranian anti-terror commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, regarded him as the "martyr of Quds".

“The martyr and leader Soleimani, who spent his life supporting the resistance as the head of the Quds Force in the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, by virtue of all that he has done is a martyr for Quds,” Haniyeh said at the anti-Daesh commander’s funeral in January 2020.

“He is a martyr of Quds, he is a martyr of Quds, he is the martyr of Quds.”

Haniyeh’s close bond with Ayatollah Khamenei

After assuming the office of the prime minister of Palestine in 2006, Haniyeh immediately paid a visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran to meet the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

Expressing great pleasure on his meeting with Ayatollah Khamenei, Haniyeh referred to the Islamic Republic of Iran as the real supporter of the Palestinian people and the main advocate of the liberation of the Holy Quds.

Haniyeh acknowledged the pivotal role played by the founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini in raising awareness about the Palestinian cause globally.  

“You are also continuing the same path that was initiated by Imam Khomeini since you have always supported the Palestinian people, and I hope that we will meet each other at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the near future," Haniyeh told Ayatollah Khamenei during the meeting.

Ayatollah Khamenei in turn reaffirmed Iran’s ironclad support to the Palestinian cause.

“The Palestinian government, in view of the principles that it has announced and on which it is insisting, is fully supported by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Leader declared.

Following the anti-regime uprising in the occupied territories in 2018, the former head of the political wing of Hamas wrote a letter to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

He expressed his appreciation for the “people of Iran as a people with a rich culture and history who live in a stable, resilient, and anti-arrogant atmosphere.”

“All the enduring people of Palestine appreciate the Islamic Republic's stand and worthy positions with regard to Palestine, Quds, and support of the Palestinian people’s resistance with different types of aid,” read the letter.

“The leaders who crave the satisfaction of the United States and Israel to unravel their relations with the Zionist regime divert the attention of the Islamic Ummah by directing hostilities towards Iran, provoking Shiite and Sunni prejudices,” it added.

In the aftermath of the announcement of Quds as “the capital of the Zionist regime” by former US president Donald Trump, Haniyeh again wrote to Ayatollah Khamenei.

“I strongly believe in the great role your Excellency exercises, directing the Islamic Republic and its devout commanders in a direction to carry out the project of accomplishing the goals of Palestine, and also in your statements for mobilizing the Ummah, warning them to avoid the abyss towards which the people are misled by the rulers of hypocrisy and conspiracy,” he wrote in January 2018.

Hamas leader’s gratefulness

In the January 2018 letter, Haniyeh thanked Iran for standing by Palestine in difficult times and for fulfilling the Islamic responsibility of supporting the oppressed.

“Without a doubt, under the noble guidance of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Iran has had and will have great superiority in strengthening those struggling in the path of God and planting the roots of Resistance and combat in Palestine,” he noted.

Expressing his devotion to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Haniyeh was quoted saying in 2019: “I praise God for bestowing us your existence and supplicate God to shower you with blessings, and protect you from harm, and from the ruse and mischief of the oppressive and arrogant enemies.”

In the same year, the former political chief of Hamas also expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the unequivocal support of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution for Palestinian resistance during his meeting with the Hamas delegation.

During the meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei announced Iran's readiness to equip the resistance with whatever it needed to fulfill its duty – fighting for the liberation of occupied territories.

“The commission of envoys informed me about the news and the meetings held during this trip, in particular, the news about their meeting with your Excellency, and your unequivocal remarks on special and extensive support and assistance for the Resistance and the Palestinian brothers, as well as announcement of readiness to supply them with whatever they will need for performing their duty of resisting,” Haniyeh wrote in a letter in September 2019.

“These remarks significantly delighted us and opened vast horizons to us, and it will have significant impacts on strategic dimensions as well as on the realm of action against the Zionist enemy.”

 In a speech in 2021, Haniyeh thanked the Islamic Republic of Iran “that did not hold back with money, weapons and technical support” to help the Palestinian struggle, while urging Arab states to come forward with help for the Palestinian resistance.

The call for help reverberated in Ayatollah Khamenei’s speech some days later as he called on Muslim states to support Palestinians militarily and financially and to help rebuild Gaza.

“Muslim states must sincerely support the Palestinian people, through military... or financial support... or in rebuilding Gaza’s infrastructure,” said the Leader at the time.

During the Unity Intifada in 2021, the Hamas leader again expressed his appreciation for the Islamic Republic of Iran's firm and unchanged stance on Palestine.

“We are pleased here in Palestine in the Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas to send our greetings to you and express our sincere gratitude to you. We pray for your success and increased victories,” he said.

The Leader was deeply moved by the martyrdom of the Hamas chief’s immediate family members and praised Haniyeh’s steadfastness in a meeting between the two in May 2024.

“We have praised your patience in our hearts and with our words when you faced with the martyrdom of your children. God willing may you be among those who receive the blessings of their Lord and His mercy,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

In his last interview during his recent visit to the Iranian capital, Haniyeh said, “Repeated meetings with the leader of the Revolution here in Iran serve as a testament to the significance of the issue of Palestine in the mind of the leader and the Muslims of Iran.”

“There are certainly other matters calling Iran’s attention but the matter of Palestine is of the highest priority in the mind of the Leader of the Revolution,” the Palestinian leader added.

Haniyeh regarded Ayatollah Khamenei as the “custodian of the resistance.”

“Meeting with you is very valuable to us because you are the guardian of the resistance. You are the guardian of the Resistance fighters,” he said.

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