The acting leader of Hamas said in Tehran on Monday it would defy President Donald Trump's plan for the United States to seize and rebuild Gaza, the coastal enclave the Iranian-backed Palestinian group controls.
"We will bring them down as we brought down the projects before them," Khalil al-Hayya said during a 46th anniversary commemoration of Iran's Islamic Revolution.
Iran's support for armed groups in the region has been the crux of a 15-month war pitting them and Tehran against Israel, which is armed and supported by Washington.
Trump said on Sunday that he was committed to having US troops take control of Gaza which he hoped to turn into a "riviera of the Middle East". Trump also proposed to relocate at least 1.5 million Palestinians from the strip to other Muslim countries such as Egypt and Jordan.
"The (Oct. 7 2023 attack on Israel) was able to unify the Palestinian people in defense of Gaza against the Zionist enemy's aggression,” al-Hayya added, referring to the shock assault and hostage-taking operation the group undertook which triggered a devastating Israeli incursion into Gaza.
Al-Hayya expressed gratitude to the Islamic Republic for what he called its decades of support for the Palestinian people and Hamas's armed stance, saying he was confident Iran would continue to stand by Palestine and the resistance until they achieve victory together in Jerusalem.
On Saturday, al-Hayya was part of a Hamas delegation which met with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at his Tehran headquarters.
The delegation was led by Mohammad Ismail Darwish, Chairman of Hamas’ Shura Council and included Zaher Jabarin, Hamas’s chief representative in the West Bank. Also present were Mohammad Darwish, head of Hamas' leadership council and senior official Nizar Awadallah.
During the meeting, the delegation provided Khamenei with an assessment of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, highlighting what they described as Hamas' "victories and successes".
Addressing the Hamas leaders, Khamenei said, “You have not only defeated the Zionist regime but, in reality, you have overcome the United States.”
The meeting took place as Washington reinstated its “maximum pressure” policy on Tehran, with President Donald Trump signaling a willingness to reopen nuclear negotiations.
In a speech on Friday, Khamenei rejected any prospect of talks, stating, "Negotiating with such a government should not be done; it is neither wise, intelligent, nor honorable."
“The Americans sit and redraw the map of the world— but only on paper, as it has no basis in reality,” he added.