Hamas says it is Iran's 'first line of defence' during Tehran visit

A senior Hamas delegation met with Iran's supreme leader during a visit on Monday, Iranian media reported.

The Hamas delegation was headed by its deputy chief, Saleh al-Arouri, who met with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his advisor Kamal Kharrazi.

"Hamas is Iran's first line of defence," said Al-Arouri following the meeting.

Other high-ranking Hamas officials such as Moussa Abu Marzouk, Maher Salah, Husam Badran, Osama Hamdan, Ezzat al-Rishq and Ismail Radwan were also part of the visit.

The Iranian official news agency IRNA said al-Arouri's visit to Tehran followed a visit by senior Iranian parliamentary official Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to Lebanon last week.

"Supporting Palestine is an ideological and religious matter," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, according to Iranian state TV.

Khamenei also denounced President Donald Trump's peace plan for the Middle East, calling it a dangerous conspiracy and urged followers not to allow it "to eliminate Palestinian identities by using money."

"Today Palestinians are equipped with precise missiles rather than stones and this means the feeling of advancement," Khamenei added.

The Palestinians have overwhelmingly rejected the plan because it ignores their political demands. Instead, it relies heavily on private sector investment in the West Bank, Gaza as well as Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon.

The plan acknowledges its success depends on completing a long-elusive Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Iran backs both Hamas and the Lebanese Hizballah group.