After representatives from Hamas and the Iranian government met in Beirut on Friday, the two parties promised to work together to unite the Muslim world to face the “Zionist danger” together, Ma’an News reported.

Ali Baraka, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, was received at the Iranian embassy in Beirut by the embassy’s head consul, Mohammad Majedi. Baraka emphasized the need to strengthen ties “in order to support Palestinian resistance,” Ma’an reported. Majedi stated his agreement, and reiterated his country’s support.

The meeting came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) stated its support for Hamas in July, praising the terror group for its “humiliating defeat” of Israel in recent conflicts. The IRGC said that Hamas was “at the forefront of the Palestinian nation’s anti-Zionism resistance and fight.”

Iran reportedly restored ties in May with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another Gaza-based terrorist group, promising it $70 million in military aid. Tehran also reportedly backs Gaza’s new Shiite terrorist group al-Sabirin, which Israel’s channel 2 described as being modeled after Hezbollah. Al-Sabirin is led by a former Islamic Jihad commander and said to receive $10 million annually from Iran.

Terrorism expert Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy wrote in July that Iran’s sponsorship of terrorist groups and activities has “only increased” in the year since Tehran reached a nuclear deal with world powers.

[Photo: IRNA ]