Bashar al-Assad, left, Syria president, greets his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran. -AFP File Photo

CAIRO: Iran must reconsider its support for the Syrian regime if it does not want to alienate Arab public opinion, the deputy chief of the Iranian-backed Palestinian movement Hamas said on Monday.

“Iran's position in the Arab world, it's no longer a good position,” Mussa Abu Marzuk, whose movement's politburo had been based in Damascus, said during a briefing to reporters at his new headquarters in the Egyptian capital.

“It has to address its position, so as not to lose public opinion,” he said.

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, relocated its leadership from Damascus to Qatar and Egypt after a rift with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over his brutal crackdown on the revolt against his regime that began in March last year.

As a result, his Islamic movement is no longer as close to Tehran, which supplies weapons to Palestinian militants, as it once was.

“Iran asked Hamas to adopt a closer position to Syria. Hamas refused, and this has affected our relationship with Iran,” Abu Marzuk said.

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal confirmed last week that Iran “had a role in arming” the movement's militants in Gaza during their eight-day conflict with Israel, and thanked Tehran, despite the disagreement over support for Assad.

Opinion

Editorial

Kurram atrocity
22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

WITH the situation in KP’s Kurram tribal district already volatile for the past several months, the murderous...
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

PAKISTAN has now registered 50 polio cases this year. We all saw it coming and yet there was nothing we could do to...
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...
Military option
Updated 21 Nov, 2024

Military option

While restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important.
HIV/AIDS disaster
21 Nov, 2024

HIV/AIDS disaster

A TORTUROUS sense of déjà vu is attached to the latest health fiasco at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital. The largest...
Dubious pardon
21 Nov, 2024

Dubious pardon

IT is disturbing how a crime as grave as custodial death has culminated in an out-of-court ‘settlement’. The...