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Hamas leader visits Iran after outreach to Gulf

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 23, 2011 file photo, Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh speaks to the press after Friday prayers, in Gaza City. Even as Qatar was helping mediate a unity accord with rival Palestinian factions, the prime minister of Hamas-ruled Gaza was leading his own tour through wealthy Gulf states. His tone was far more like a CEO than anti-Israel firebrand: meeting Gulf rulers and investment groups about pumping money into struggling Gaza. Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh wrapped up a three-nation Gulf trip Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait that included talks on potential investments in areas such as housing, road building agricultural in Gaza. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, March 29, 2007 file photo, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, left, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Qatari leader, Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani share a laugh during the Arab summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Even as Qatar was helping mediate a unity accord with rival Palestinian factions, the prime minister of Hamas-ruled Gaza was leading his own tour through wealthy Gulf states. His tone was far more like a CEO than anti-Israel firebrand: meeting Gulf rulers and investment groups about pumping money into struggling Gaza. Haniyeh's trip coincided with breakthrough meetings in Qatar between Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on a unity accord to end the political estrangement between Gaza and the Abbas-governed West Bank. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

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By NASSER KARIMI, The Associated Press 10:31 AM Friday, February 10, 2012

TEHRAN — An Iranian semiofficial news agency reports that the Hamas prime minister of Gaza has arrived in Tehran. The visit may be an attempt by the Palestinian militant movement to avoid snubbing Iran even as it cultivates ties with the wealthy Gulf.

The Friday report by Fars says Ismail Haniyeh will meet Iranian leaders, despite what the agency claimed were efforts by Gulf countries like Qatar and Kuwait to stop the visit.

Some in Hamas want to be part of the broader Islamist political rise triggered by last year's Arab Spring uprisings. For this, Hamas needs new friends among Gulf states at odds with Iran.

But others in the movement may wish to maintain the relationship with Tehran, which helped Hamas when it had few friends in the Arab world.

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February 10, 2012 03:25 PM EST

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