For years, relations between Iran and the Palestinian factions was mainly with Hamas, the Islamic Jihadand relativelywith Ahmad Jibrils branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). For yearsthissituation continued,untilJibril Rajoub, deputy secretary of Fatahs Central Committee and former head of the Palestinian Authority (PA) preventive security force, arrived on Jan. 28in Tehran ona visit that surprised manyto meet Iranian officials.Irans revolutionaries and Fatah enjoyed strong relations before and during the revolution, but after the shah's falland the formation of the new Islamic Republic of Iran things started to change, and within a year or two the alliance that brought together men such asMustafa Shemran, Irans slain defense minister, and AbuJihad, Fatahsofficial who was later assassinated, wentalong with the regional developments. Only few Fatah leaders have come to Iran since then, but a few years laterHamas and Islamic Jihad emerged as Irans adopted sons in Palestine.
Until March 15, 2011, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamasand Islamic Jihad formed the resistance bloc in the region. Hamas political bureauand its head Khaled Meshaal resided in Damascus, and so did Islamic Jihads secretary-general Ramadan Shallah. After the start of therevolution in Syria things changed gradually;Hamas tried to mediate inthe beginning between the Bashar al-Assad regime and the oppositionmainly the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood butwhen the mediation failedHamas found itself deserting the resistance bloc. Relations with Iran subsequently cooled down, though Hamasoffice in Tehran continuesto operate.Visits byHamas officials to the Iranian capital did not stop, though they have become fewer overtime.
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