Hamas feeling consequences of touting ties with Iran
Hamas needs its connection with Iran, but some within the movement say it must stop boasting about renewed relations before it undoes any progress it's made to change its international image.
Hamas leaders regret speaking out about their renewed relations with Iran, some sources report, and certain foreign advisers to Hamas have recommended that the Islamist movement stop its boasting.
The advisers criticize the multiple public meetings some Hamas leaders have held with Iranian figures and others linked to the Iranian camp. Hamas is now rethinking its behavior, a source close to Hamas’ inner circle told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, Hamas leaders will convene a meeting soon to discuss the situation and try to mitigate the repercussions. Hamas believes the publicity has harmed the Palestinian people in general and the Hamas movement in particular, and incited the Iranian people against the Palestinian cause.
This report comes as Iranians continue to protest their country’s increasingly troubled economy and collapsing currency. Iranians are furious at the regime for spending billions of dollars in regional proxy wars at the expense of the country’s struggling economy and the well-being of Iranian citizens. Among the chants heard in the protests were “Leave Syria and think of us,” and “No to Gaza. No to Lebanon.” Some were even heard recently shouting “Death to Palestine,” indicating their discontent with the regime’s aid for Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.
