News that the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Khaled Meshaal, may visit Iran has dominated the behind-the-scenes Palestinian political discourse. Decision-makers in Gaza, Doha, Tehran and Damascus have exchanged indirect messages about the speculated visit.

Amir Mousavi, an official in the Supreme Council for the Iranian Revolution, told Hamas’ Al-Resalah newspaper on Oct. 23 that preparations are being made for a meeting between Meshaal and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in the coming weeks to strengthen bilateral relations.

The visit, however, was postponed by Iran for unknown reasons. Ahmed Yousef, a former political adviser to the Hamas government, blamed the postponement on Iran’s preoccupation with internal issues and its ongoing talks with the international community. He revealed that a Hamas delegation had secretly visited Tehran this month to reduce the differences in their relations and reach a “conciliatory approach” to managing strategic relationships.

Meanwhile, Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau and media official, told Al-Monitor during an interview that there are no preparations for Meshaal to visit Tehran and that all talk in that regard is just speculation intended to distort Hamas’ positions.