Hamas leader Haniyeh sets out for Iran, Gulf states
By REUTERS 01/30/2012 18:11
Islamist movement's leader in Gaza leaves for Tehran at the invitation of Iranian President Ahmadinejad.
PM Haniyeh and Iranian President Ahmadinejad By REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

GAZA - The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, left on Monday for a tour of Iran and Gulf states, continuing a diplomatic drive to realign the Palestinian Islamist movement after a year of political change in the Arab world. Non-Arab Iran, along with its Arab ally Syria, have been principal backers of Hamas. Iran has supplied funds and - according to Israel - weapons to use against the Jewish state.

Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nono said Haniyeh, who travels via Egypt since Israel bars other exits from Gaza, was going to Tehran at the invitation of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But he gave no details of the agenda for talks in Tehran. The upheavals across the Middle East are obliging the Palestinians and their rival political movements, Hamas and Fatah, to review alliances - though how Hamas may adjust its strategies, or its stance towards Israel, is far from clear.

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