From the Liveblog of
Monday, August 10, 2015
PA seeks warmer relations with Iran
The Palestinian Authority is attempting to strengthen its diplomatic relations with Iran, as ties between the Islamic Republic and its main Palestinian rival, Hamas, grow increasingly chilly.
PA President Mahmoud Abbas sends Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, to Iran, where he meets with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Majdalani tells Palestinian radio on Monday that he signed a cooperation agreement between Iran and “Palestine,” with the two sides forming a “high committee” to discuss political, economic and social exchange.
“We discussed the Palestinian situation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. He stressed Iran’s support for the attempts of the Palestinian leadership to end the Palestinian divide and form a unity government,” Majdalani tells Mawtini radio station on Monday, noting that he carried a letter from Abbas to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Iran’s relations with the Palestinian Authority and Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement have been traditionally frosty since the Palestinian leader has renounced the armed resistance against Israel, which Iran supports both financially and ideologically.
— Elhanan Miller
The Times of Israel Community.