Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting Qatar on Thursday to meet leaders of Tehran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas, a ministry statement said.
The ministry said he would meet senior Hamas officials “to hail the victory of the Palestinian people through 16 months of legendary resistance” in the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas led thousands of terrorists to invade southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 hostages to the Gaza Strip. The attack triggered a war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
The fighting later spread to include the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, which began to attack Israel from Lebanon the day after the Hamas assault, and also led to direct exchanges between the Islamic Republic and Israel.
During the war, Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was staying in Tehran for the inauguration of a new Iranian president. Iran twice fired missile barrages at Israel, both of which were largely thwarted by air defense systems. Israel hit back each time with airstrikes, the latter of which reportedly destroyed much of Iran’s air defense, as well as rocket and drone manufacturing sites.
