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Iran Tells Hamas It Will Not Enter the War with Israel
(Reuters) Parisa Hafezi - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a clear message to the head of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, when they met in Tehran in early November: We will not enter the war with Israel on your behalf. Khamenei said Iran - a longtime backer of Hamas - would continue to lend the group its political and moral support, but wouldn't intervene directly, said three senior Iranian and Hamas officials with knowledge of the discussions. Khamenei pressed Haniyeh to silence those voices in Hamas publicly calling for Iran and its ally Hizbullah to join the battle against Israel, a Hamas official told Reuters. Iran won't directly intervene in the conflict unless it is itself attacked by Israel or the U.S., according to six officials with direct knowledge of Tehran's thinking. One source said Hamas wanted Hizbullah to strike deeper into Israel with its massive arsenal of rockets but that Hizbullah believed this would lead Israel to lay waste to Lebanon without halting its attack on Gaza.