Iran will firmly stand by Palestinian nation: Supreme Leader

TEHRAN, Feb. 13 (MNA) -- Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said that Iran will firmly stand by the Palestinian nation and support their resistance movement. Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting with democratically elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya in Tehran on Sunday. “Iran is steadfast and honest in regard to the Palestinian issue and will stand by the Palestinian people and the resistance,” the Leader stated. The Leader also said that the support of nations, particularly the Islamic ummah, for Palestine’s Islamic movement has given the resistance groups “strategic depth”. He went on to say that Palestine’s victories in recent years and part of the Islamic Awakening movement are the result of the resistance of the Palestinian nation and their resistance groups, and future victories and the realization of divine promises also depend on this resistance. Commenting to the Zionist regime’s defeat in the December 2008-January 2009 Gaza war, he said there is no doubt that regional nations’ pent-up sentiments about the 22-day Gaza war helped trigger “the sudden eruption of the volcano of the region.” Any move meant to undermine the resistance will negatively affect the future, he noted, adding that the Palestinian people should take precautions in order to prevent the elements who are inclined to compromise from penetrating the body of the resistance because such a disease gradually metastasizes. Haniya congratulated the Leader on the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and said the high turnout for the Bahman 22 (February 11) rallies across Iran was of strategic importance to Palestine. He also said the liberation of the occupied territories, resistance with no concessions, and insistence on the fact that the Palestinian issue is an Islamic issue are the three key strategies of the legitimate government of Palestine.