Iranian President Pashajan Supports Palestinian Leadership Decisions on Gaza's Future Amid Negotiations

Iranian President Masoud Pashajan expressed strong support for all decisions and initiatives taken by Palestinian leaders regarding the future of Gaza during a Wednesday conversation with Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas's political bureau. Pashajan emphasized that Iran's heart and spirit remain with the Palestinian people and pledged continued backing for their cause.

Earlier the same day, Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau and its negotiation delegation, stated that Hamas is still awaiting an official response from Nikolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, concerning the implementation of the second phase of the Cairo Agreement roadmap. Naim praised the Palestinian factions for their responsible approach to the proposals and commended the mediators' statement that held Israel accountable for escalating tensions and deliberately delaying the agreement.

Sources within Hamas and other Palestinian factions revealed that on Tuesday evening, messages were exchanged between the negotiation team and Mladenov following his recent statement after meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The UN peace council linked Israel's withdrawal to the complete disarmament of Gaza, a condition some Palestinian factions viewed as a retreat from the agreement reached early last Friday with mediators.

Three separate sources involved in the Cairo negotiations told the Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that the negotiation team considers the UN peace council's statement a deviation from the agreement, focusing incorrectly on the weapons issue while ignoring other critical matters. They warned that the statement seemed aimed at appeasing the Israeli government and raised concerns about how the agreement's implementation phase would proceed. Mladenov reportedly reassured the Palestinian delegation that there had been no changes to the Cairo roadmap agreement, which includes 15 clauses.