By Pishtaz | 2023-11-23

Fallout from a report detailing a recent meeting between Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has shed light on the regime's position on the Israel-Hamas war.

Citing three senior Iranian and Hamas officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, Reuters on November 15 reported that the Iranian leader "delivered a clear message" to the Hamas leader when they met in Tehran in early November.

The message was, "You gave us no warning of your October 7 attack on Israel, and we will not enter the war on your behalf."

Khamenei told Haniyeh that Iran -- a longtime backer of Hamas -- "would continue to lend the group its political and moral support, but wouldn't intervene directly."

In remarks broadcast by al-Mayadeen television, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan, who was speaking in Beirut, confirmed that Haniyeh, who has divided his time between Qatar and Türkiye since 2019, traveled to Iran to meet with Khamenei.

Reuters quoted a Hamas official as saying that Khamenei pressed Haniyeh to silence those voices in the Hamas terrorist group publicly calling for Iran and its powerful Lebanese ally Hizbullah to join the battle against Israel in full force.

"Iran will not directly intervene in the conflict unless it is itself attacked by Israel or the United States," six officials with direct knowledge told the news agency.

Hamas did not respond to questions sent by Reuters before the publication of the report. Afterward, however, the terrorist group posted a statement on Telegram saying it denied the validity of the report, which it described as "baseless."

But the post did not specify what was inaccurate, and the terrorist group has not responded to Reuters' request for clarification so far.

'Strategic error'

Khamenei himself and other regime officials have kept mum about the content of the report amid widespread speculations about it.

On Khamenei's website, where pictures of his meetings are generally posted, no photos of this particular meeting have appeared.

Khatt-e-Hezbollah, which is affiliated with Khamenei, denied the content of Reuters' report, describing it as an "absolute lie," adding that Khamenei reiterated his support for Hamas in the November meeting in Tehran.

On October 7, Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif called on Hamas's "axis allies" to "join the struggle."

"Our brothers in the Islamic resistance in Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, this is the day when your resistance unites with your people in Palestine," he said in an audio message.

But Iran and its ally Hizbullah's inaction amid the conflict in Gaza has evidently frustrated Hamas leaders, including Khaled Meshaal, who in an October 16 televised interview thanked Hizbullah for its actions but added that "the battle needs more."

Meanwhile, the opposition expatriate media outlet Iran International cited its "exclusive information" from the Khamenei-Haniyeh meeting in Tehran, saying that Khamenei rebuked Hamas officials.

Blaming Hamas officials for their "strategic error" that has landed Iran in "strategic and tactical desperation," the Iranian leader said he would lend only "political and moral support" to the group at this point, Iran International reported.

Retaining power at all costs

"Despite the Iran's regime officials' slogans and rhetoric, it's difficult to imagine the Palestinian people are important to them," said an Iran-based political newspaper editor who did not wish to be named.

"Given the Iranian regime's actions in Iran and beyond, pretending to care about minors is a baseless claim on its part, and I have a hard time believing there is any truth to it," he added, referring to Iranian rhetoric about the deaths of Palestinian children in the Hamas-Israeli war.

Amnesty International and other organizations have reported that at least 44 Iranian minors were killed by the regime's security forces during the crackdown on last year's months-long, widespread anti-establishment protests.

What Tehran officials have stated is based on their own calculated interests, said an Iran-based political science professor who specializes in war studies.

"It's very obvious that Khamenei does not want Iran to be engaged in this war, nor does he have any plans to do so, unless there is a drastic change in the current situation."

"The Iranian regime does not want to get involved in this conflict, and the lack of desire is not because Iranians oppose their country's involvement in it. Moreover, the regime doesn't care about reserving money for the public or about spending it on the public," he told Pishtaz on condition of anonymity.

"Neither Khamenei nor the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would ever go to war with Israel, unless Iran is directly attacked, or if their power is gravely endangered," added the professor.

"Remaining in power at all costs is the Iranian regime's end goal. As long as they retain power, Iran's officials do not care about alliances, religion or people -- including their own people," he said.