Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh gestures as he delivers a speech in Gaza City, Jan. 23, 2018. Photo: Reuters / Mohammed Salem.

JNS.org – Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei thanking him for supporting the terrorist group, including by supplying weapons, Iranian media reported on Sunday.

Haniyeh reportedly ended the letter with a wish for the realization of Khamenei’s call for the “liberation of Palestine and the victory of the Palestinians over their enemies,” according to Iran’s Fars News Agency.

In July, the deputy head of Hamas’s political branch, Saleh al-Arouri visited Khamenei in Tehran and delivered another letter from Haniyeh to the Iranian leader.

Meanwhile, Iran said that Hezbollah’s attack on Israel on Sunday was a retaliatory move and that its aim was to safeguard Lebanon’s interests, Reuters reported.

“Hezbollah enjoys significant popular support in Lebanon … the Zionist regime’s [Israel] punishment by Hezbollah was a reciprocal measure that displayed the resistance front’s determination to counter threats,” said Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Iran state news agency IRNA.