Relationship dossier
Iran
Palestine
Relationship assessment
Iran supports Palestinian causes and factions, while its ties with Hamas have contributed to friction with the Palestinian Authority.
Iran toward Palestine
+50Iran has provided political and material support to Palestinian causes and factions, notably Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This support has been sustained, though it has not translated into uniformly close ties with the Palestinian Authority.
Palestine toward Iran
+15Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited Tehran for the 2012 Non-Aligned Movement summit, demonstrating high-level engagement with Iran. The scope of broader Palestinian Authority cooperation with the Iranian government is unclear.
Overall relationship
+40The relationship is shaped by Iran's sustained support for Palestinian causes and factions, alongside limited high-level engagement between Iran and the Palestinian Authority. Iran's support for Hamas has been a source of tension with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority, making the relationship politically uneven.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Iran has provided sustained political and material support to Palestinian causes and factions, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Its close ties with these groups have also created friction with the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Fatah. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's 2012 visit to Tehran for the Non-Aligned Movement summit was a notable instance of high-level engagement with Iran.
Areas of tension
- Iran's support for Hamas has contributed to tensions with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.
- Iranian support for Palestinian factions has raised concerns about interference in Palestinian political affairs.
Key developments
Mahmoud Abbas visited Tehran for the Non-Aligned Movement summit and held high-level engagement with Iranian officials.
Iran maintained political and material support for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Major uncertainties
- The scale and continuity of Iranian material support to Palestinian factions are unclear.
- The scope of direct cooperation between Iran and the Palestinian Authority is unclear.
- Palestinian political divisions complicate the extent to which Iran's ties with factions represent relations with Palestinian governing institutions.