Al-Monitor:

Since Hamas and Islamic Jihad remained on the sidelines in the Syrian civil war and left their respective offices in Damascus in 2012, Iran, a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, suspended its financial support to both movements, cutting off their largest sources of funding.

The return of these relations, however, seems to be in the offing, especially with the recent events in the region. On May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government intends to annex 30% of the West Bank.

Head of the Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh said July 6 that he had received a message from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirming that his country will continue to provide support to the Palestinians.

“Iran will spare no effort to support the Palestinian people to restore their right and hold off the evil schemes of the Zionist entity,” the message read.

The message comes after Iranian Shura Council Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf made two phone calls to Haniyeh and Islamic Jihad Secretary-General Ziyad al-Nakhalah July 1, to discuss mechanisms and ways to thwart Israel’s annexation plan.

Ghalibaf expressed his country’s support for the Palestinian people in the face of the US Middle East peace plan, known locally as "the deal of the century."

Hamas has made great efforts in the past months in a bid to restore Iranian support. Hamas condemned the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by a US strike in Baghdad Jan. 3. Haniyeh also traveled to Tehran to participate in Soleimani’s funeral.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of Hamas political bureau, had said during an interview with Al-Nahda News July 9, 2019, that Hamas had been making great efforts in a bid to restore relations with the Syrian government backed by the Iranian regime.

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