A pair of delegations from Iran and Hamas have descended on Moscow, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s subordinates are huddling with Israel’s enemies as the war in Gaza threatens to expand.

“The talks focused on the recent Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the strategies to halt Israeli crimes, which are backed by the U.S. and many Western nations,” Hamas announced on its English-language Telegram channel.

ECONOMIC GROWTH SURGED IN THIRD QUARTER TO 4.9% RATE DESPITE HIGH INTEREST RATES

Russian officials confirmed the visit, saying the meeting with Hamas was focused on “continuation of the Russian course towards the release of foreign hostages present in the Gaza Strip.” That conversation featured Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, according to Hamas, and Russia also confirmed that another deputy foreign minister hosted a senior Iranian official.

“I can confirm that today, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister [Mikhail] Galuzin met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister [Ali] Bagheri Kani,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

That meeting focused on issues related to their potential to cooperate in the area of ballistic missiles following the expiration of U.N. sanctions on Iran.

“Special attention was paid to the situation around the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, including in light of the expiration of some of its provisions related to the Iranian missile program, international cooperation with Tehran in this field and the asset freeze of certain Iranian individuals and entities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, per state media. “Several other regional and international issues were also touched upon.”

Iran is one of the chief patrons of Hamas, which stunned Israel on Oct. 7 by breaking through the Gaza border fence and rampaging across southern Israel. Hamas terrorists withdrew back into Gaza with more than 200 hostages after massacring more than 1,400 civilians and leaving thousands more wounded. Israel has responded with heavy bombardments of Gaza in advance of an expected ground offensive, but Iran and its proxies are threatening to expand the conflict — to inflict “a bigger disgrace” on Israel — in the event of a ground offensive.

“The resistance front’s shocks against the Zionist regimes [Israel] will continue until this ‘cancerous tumor’ is eradicated from the world map,” Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi has said. “Another shock wave is on the way if Israel does not end atrocities in Gaza.”

President Joe Biden has ordered two U.S. aircraft carrier groups to the Mediterranean in an overt bid to warn Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah, another Iran-backed terrorist group, that they should not “jump on this terrible bandwagon” with Hamas. Lavrov’s subordinate argued on Thursday that these measures threaten to trigger a larger war.

“We are extremely concerned about the military moves that non-regional countries are making in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Zakharova said. “These factors, along with increasingly belligerent rhetoric from various parties, are raising the risks of the conflict escalating into a regional one.”

A spokesman for one of Iran’s proxies acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. military deployments are intended “to deter the axis of resistance,” which he said would not succeed.

“The recalling of the U.S. forces to the region is merely a part of premeditated plans to deter the axis of resistance,” Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Daoud Shehab said Wednesday, per a pro-Hezbollah media outlet based in Lebanon. “The axis of resistance will not be deterred by U.S. threats, and it is sending brazen messages that it is prepared to act rather than just talk.”

Hamas and Iran sent officials to Moscow one day after another reported dialogue involving Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, another senior Hamas official, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhalah. PIJ, which is understood in American circles to be a “wholly-owned subsidiary of Tehran,” participated in the Oct. 7 attack.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“[The trio] assessed the international and regional stances as well as steps to be taken by the Axis of Resistance in this critical phase in order to achieve an all-out victory and to stop the brutal attack on the oppressed people of Gaza and the West Bank,” Hezbollah said in a statement translated by Al-Monitor.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not meet with Hamas, according to his spokesman. “All contacts proceed at the level of the Foreign Ministry,” the Kremlin’s Dmitry Peskov said. However, the terrorist organization paid their compliments indirectly.

“The delegation hailed also the stance of Russian President Vladimir Putin and acknowledged the active role of Russian diplomacy,” Hamas said.

SOURCE: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/russia-hosts-hamas-iran-moscow-meetings