Iran Leaves IPU Meeting To Show Support For Hamas

A parliamentary delegation from Iran left the opening ceremony of the Inter-Parliamentary Union after an anti-Hamas speech made by the union president.

The delegation, led by Mojtaba Zonnour, the deputy speaker of the parliament, attended the 147th session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union for the first time, with participants from over 120 countries.

Zonnour, a hardliner, previously served as the Supreme Leader's Deputy Representative to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and chaired the Nuclear Subcommittee of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Islamic Consultative Assembly until 2019.

At the beginning of the session, Duarte Pacheco, the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, delivered a speech in which he advocated the right of Israelis to defend themselves in recent events and referred to Palestinian groups as "terrorists." Following his statements, the Iranian parliamentary delegation left the opening ceremony in protest.

Designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1984, Iran continues its support for terrorist-related activities, including support for Hezbollah, Palestinian terror-designated groups in Gaza, and various militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere throughout the Middle East.

Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas Islamist group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst through the barrier fence surrounding the enclave on October 7 and rampaged through Israeli towns and kibbutzes, killing 1,400 people.

Israel has since pounded Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and is preparing for a ground offensive. Palestinian authorities say around 5,000 people have been killed in the enclave. The UN says more than a million have been made homeless.