Did Supreme Leader Khamenei tell Hamas chief that Iran would not directly enter war against Israel?
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly said that Iran will not directly enter the ongoing Israel-Hamas war when he spoke to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh earlier this month.
In a report published by the news agency Reuters on Wednesday (Nov 15), it was mentioned that he announced Iran's stance as Tehran was not informed in advance about the Oct 7 assault by Hamas, which basically started the war.
The news agency cited three senior officials as saying that Iran's supreme leader met with the Hamas chief in Tehran in early November and delivered a clear message.
Khamenei's remarks are significant amid geopolitical experts raising concerns over the possible spread of the war, with the involvement of other nations, especially Iran - a longtime ally of Hamas.
Khamenei told Ismail Haniyeh that Iran would continue to lend the group its political and moral support, but wouldn't intervene directly.
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As per the report, the Iranian and Hamas officials with knowledge of the discussions have provided details of the conversation and asked to remain anonymous.
The Iranian leader also asked Haniyeh to put a full stop to the calls in the Palestinian group publicly calling for Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah to join the war against Israel in full force.
After the Reuters report, Hamas said in a statement on Telegram that it denied the validity of the report, calling it "baseless", without giving substantive evidence.
Watch:Ceasefire demonstrations outside White House, fake body bags placed
Iran has slammed US
Earlier in the month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday accused the United States of "encouraging" Israel to kill and carry out "cruel acts" against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
After the Oct 7 attack by Hamas militants, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza and sent in ground troops, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory claiming that around 11,500 people died, around 40 per cent of them children.
Raisi had said at a joint news conference in Tehran that "the aid from the United States to the Zionist regime (Israel) is encouraging them to kill and commit cruel acts of neglect against the Palestinian people".
"We believe that the bombings must stop as soon as possible, that a ceasefire must be declared immediately and that aid be provided to the oppressed and proud people of Gaza," Raisi said.
"These horrible crimes against humanity are a genocide, which is carried out by the Zionist regime (Israel) with the support of the United States and certain European countries," he has added.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.