Hamas ties with Iran are intact

Differences over Syria have not affected ties with Hezbollah and Iran, a senior Hamas official told The Daily Star.

Osama Hamdan, a Hamas politburo member, said it was important to separate Iran and Hezbollah’s historic support for the resistance to Israel from the current crisis in Syria.

“Trying to restrict discussion of ties with Iran to what is happening in Syria is wrong and does not benefit anyone in the relationship,” Hamdan said during an interview at the Hamas offices in Beirut.

Hamdan, 47, who served as a Hamas official representative in Iran for four years, acknowledged some differences but insisted Hamas’ policy toward Iran had not shifted.

“We didn’t have any changes in our policy toward Iran,” he said.

“It is wrong to link the Palestinian cause to any other crisis in the region and it is wrong for anyone to think he can make use of the Palestinian cause. As a movement, when the differences erupted regarding the Syrian crisis, we preferred to keep silent,” he added.