Iran’s government says the recent meeting of Hamas and Fatah in the Chinese capital is a valuable step in the direction of national reconciliation for Palestine, Al Jazeera reports.

Nasser Kanaani, the foreign ministry spokesperson, said on X that the Iranian government backs the Palestinian groups “in confronting the occupation of the apartheid regime of Israel and their collective movement in the direction of exercising the fundamental right to self-determination”.

The Palestinian groups agreed earlier in the week to form a unity government at the talks hosted by China, a deal meant to deliver a post-conflict Gaza administration.

The agreement was shortly rejected by Israel.