Stuck between a biological mother and an adoptive father, the Palestinian Hamas movement has been straining to keep the balance without intimidating any of the two. The Muslim Brotherhood, which Hamas belongs to ideologically, wants the group to keep its distance from Tehran. Meanwhile, Iran, which has provided financing for years, is pushing for warmer relations so that Hamas can once again be counted on to be part of the wider “Resistance Axis,” which also includes the Syrian and Iraqi governments as well as Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement.

On Feb. 9, a senior delegation from Hamas arrived in Tehran to take part in the 37th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. Politburo members Mohammed Nasr and Osama Hamdan led the Hamas delegation, and both participated in the ceremonies — but that wasn’t all. Nasr and Hamdan seized the opportunity to meet several top Iranian officials including parliament Speaker Ali Larijani and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani.

“Hamas officials came along with a delegation representing [other] Palestinian factions, but they stayed longer upon agreement with the Iranian side in order to pave the way for better relations,” an Iranian official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. He added, “For years, there were attempts to find common ground; there are several elements that caused this coldness in relations with the political wing [of Hamas], yet it’s important to say that this never affected relations with [armed wing] Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Now is the best time to try to build trust once again and go to further levels of cooperation with the [Hamas] movement as a whole.”

Al-Monitor learned that the Hamas delegation met with Maj. Gen. Qasem Suleimani, commander of the Quds Force — the external operations wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps — and other officials who oversee the Palestinian file within the Islamic Republic. “Meetings were up to expectations,” said a Hamas official who asked not to be identified. He elaborated, “The world has changed a lot since [the beginning of the Arab Spring in] 2011 and till now. Iran isn’t the same as before, and we aren’t [the same either]. Yet, we both still have the same interest in having a strong resistance in Palestine to face the Israeli aggression. They know, and we believe, that there’s no benefit to restoring the old relationship [we had]; we need to build the foundations for a new relationship based on new needs.”

Read the article in full at Al-Monitor.