Iran says FM in Qatar to meet Hamas leaders

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting Qatar on Thursday to meet leaders of Tehran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, a ministry statement said.

It said he would meet senior Hamas officials "to hail the victory of the Palestinian people through 16 months of legendary resistance" in the Gaza Strip.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian fighters based in Gaza attacked Israel which then launched an assault on the Palestinian territory.

The fighting later spread to include the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon, and also led to direct exchanges between sworn enemies the Islamic republic and Israel.

A ceasefire began on January 19 that will see 33 Israeli hostages captured on October 7, 2023, freed in exchange for 1,900 people -- mostly Palestinians -- in Israeli custody.

On Tuesday, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Gaza had brought Israel "to its knees" in the conflict.

"The small, limited Gaza brought the Zionist regime, armed to the teeth and fully supported by America, to its knees," he said during a meeting in Tehran.

On January 22 in Davos, Switzerland, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif acknowledged that Hamas's attack on Israel had "destroyed" an opportunity for talks to revive a landmark nuclear accord.