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Monday, January 19, 2009

Iran's Ahmadinejad congratulates Hamas on 'victory'

TEHRAN, Jan 19, 2009 (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday congratulated Hamas on its "victory" in its war with Israel, the state news agency IRNA reported.

"Today is the beginning of victory, and perseverance will complete the links of victory," Ahmadinejad told Hamas' exiled chief Khaled Meshaal in a telephone call, the report said.

Islamic states, he added, should seek to "pressure the Zionist regime to fully retreat, open the crossings, try the Zionist criminals, cut ties with the fake Zionist regime and boycott its goods and those of its supporters."

Israeli troops on Monday began withdrawing from Gaza after ending their deadly 22-day onslaught against Hamas in the battered territory.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniya said the war with Israel which killed more than 1,300 Palestinians amounted to a "great victory".

Iran is a staunch supporter of the Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip, and does not recognize its archfoe Israel.

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