Iran FM phones Abbas to discuss US peace deal
Given shaky relations between Iran and the Palestinian Authority, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's phone call to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas came as a surprise.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif phoned Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Feb. 4 to encourage Palestinian internal reconciliation and express opposition to the so-called US deal of the century. The call marked a historic development in Iranian-Palestinian relations.
The next day, Zarif contacted the head of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, to reassert Iran's refusal of the US deal. He reiterated Iran’s position backing the Palestinians, and its willingness to exert diplomatic and political effort to support them.
Although Zarif’s call to Haniyeh was typical of the strong relationship between Hamas and Iran, his call to Abbas was the first of its kind in many years. Relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Iran are shaky and frozen, at best.
Abbas Zaki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, leads a current within the PA that advocates rapprochement with Iran. He viewed Zarif’s recent phone call as Iran expressing its concern over the dangers posed by the US deal.
