DUBAI, July 30. /TASS/. Iranian President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian met in Tehran with the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and expressed confidence that Palestinian groups will destroy Israel.

"The people of Iran have always hated the crimes and aggression of the Zionist regime (Israel - TASS), supported the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people and will continue this support with greater strength. The fierce resistance of the Palestinian people against these crimes is a reason for pride. And we are confident that this struggle will end with the final victory of the Palestinian people and the liberation of the Palestinian land, as well as the destruction of the Zionist regime," Pezeshkian said in a statement posted to the website of his administration.

The Hamas leader, who traveled to Tehran to attend Pezeshkian's swearing-in ceremony, said that during Iran's massive missile and drone strike on Israel in April in response to Israel's shelling of the Islamic republic's consulate in Damascus, about 20 countries tried to support the Jewish state. Haniyeh said this shows that Israel is "in a state of strategic crisis." He asked Tehran to continue supporting Palestinian groups.

Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also met with Haniyeh. The Hamas leader said that 300 days had passed since the conflict in the Gaza Strip began to escalate. He also said that "we have reached a critical phase" which Palestine must win.

Islamic resistance forces, which Tehran views as its allies in the region and calls the Axis of Resistance, include Muslim, mostly Shiite, paramilitary groups. They include the Palestinian Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq, and Yemen's Houthis. Pezeshkian on Tuesday also met with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem, and Houthi representative Mohammed Abdul-Salam.

Iran will hold a swearing-in ceremony for the country's new president. Foreign representatives from at least 80 countries are expected to arrive. The Russian delegation at the ceremony will be led by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. On July 28, Khamenei signed a decree endorsing Pezeshkian as president.