Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has met with the leader of the Tehran-backed Palestinian group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran, Iranian state media has reported, according to Reuters.

Iranian state media said Haniyeh, who has resided between Qatar and Turkey since 2019, “briefed Khamenei on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza, as well as the developments in the West Bank”.

“Khamenei praised the steadfastness and resilience of the people of Gaza and expressed strong regret over the crimes of the Zionist regime, supported directly by Washington and some Western countries,” Iran’s state TV said.

Without elaborating on when the meeting took place, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said the country’s top authority Khamenei “emphasised Tehran’s consistent policy of supporting the Palestinian resistance forces against the Zionist occupiers”.

Iran’s clerical establishment has warned Israel, which it refuses to recognise, of “harsh consequences” if attacks continue on the Gaza Strip.