During a celebration to mark Hamas’ inauguration, which was held in the Gaza Strip on Dec. 14, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, expressed his thanks to Iran for supporting Hamas with money and weapons and providing it with rockets and anti-tank missiles.
Before Hamas expressed its thanks to Iran, a high-level visit to Tehran was made by a Hamas delegation on Dec. 8. The visit was headed by Hamas political bureau member Mohammed Nasr, head of its international affairs, Osama Hamdan, Maher Obeid, Jamal Issa and Hamas representative in Tehran Khalid al-Qaddumi. The delegation met with Iranian parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in an attempt to restore Iran’s military and financial support for the movement.