A rapprochement betweenHamasand Tehran is under way almost three years after a breach over the Palestinian party's refusal to back the Syrian government in the civil war, and amid its current political isolation following the demise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
The rebuilding of the relationship is likely to dismay Israel and the US, which had welcomed the weakened ties betweenGaza's rulers and their powerful political, financial and military sponsors.
"Relations between us are now almost back to how they were before [the crisis overSyria]. We believe we will soon be back at that point," said Taher al-Nounou, an aide to Gaza's prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh. Contacts between high-ranking officials from both sides had resumed, he said.