It seems that the internal elections held by Hamas in May are no longer an exclusively Palestinian affair. Many regional leaders congratulated the Hamas leadership after Ismail Haniyeh was elected as head of Hamas’ political bureau at home and abroad and when Yahya Sinwar was elected head of Hamas’ political bureau in the Gaza Strip in February.
Iran congratulated Hamas despite the lukewarm relationship following tension over diverging views on the Syrian revolution since 2012. It seems Iran is upbeat about the ability of Hamas’ new leadership to restore the once-strong relationship between the two parties.