In first, Iran’s president addresses Palestinians in Gaza

By FARES AKRAM
Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Iran’s president has delivered an unprecedented speech to an annual pro-Palestinian rally in the Gaza Strip. It was a display of Iran’s importance to the Hamas militant group that rules the enclave. President Ebrahim Raisi spoke virtually on Friday to hundreds of supporters of Hamas and the smaller Islamic Jihad militant group gathered at a soccer stadium in Gaza City. He urged Palestinians to press on with their struggle against Israel. His speech — the first of its kind to Palestinians — wsa part of years of quiet efforts to mend a rift between Hamas and its long-time patron, Iran, over the devastating civil war in Syria.