Palestine's new envoy to Iran submits credentials

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – The new Palestinian ambassador to Iran, Salam al-Zawawi, submitted her credentials to President Ebrahim Raisi on Tuesday, nearly a month after her appointment.

A statement issued by Raisi’s office said the Iranian president reaffirmed his country’s support to the Palestinian cause, terming the liberation of Jerusalem from the Israeli occupation as "a top priority for the Muslim world".

He described unity and solidarity among different Palestinian groups as a "key to victory" against Israel, while denouncing the normalization deals signed by some Arab states with Tel Aviv in recent years.

In 2020, four Arab countries – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco – signed US-sponsored agreements to normalize relations with Israel, a move decried by the Palestinians as a “betrayal” of their cause.

A daughter of seasoned Palestinian diplomat Salah al-Zawawi, Salam was sworn in as the new ambassador to Iran last month by the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Salah al-Zawawi served as the Palestinian envoy to Tehran for 41 years, until last month, earning him the title of “moghaddam al-Safra”, meaning the senior-most foreign diplomat.

One of the founding members of the Fatah Movement in Palestine, Salah was the second Palestinian envoy to Iran since the 1979 revolution, after Hani al-Hassan.

During his lengthy diplomatic stint in Iran, Salah maintained close ties with political figures from both the conservative and reformist camps, and had good relations with all post-1979 presidents from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the early 1980s to Ebrahim Raisi in 2021.

Salam, who has lived in Iran for years and speaks fluent Persian, will be the third Palestinian ambassador to Iran since 1979.

Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has maintained close ties with Palestinian groups, including the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which was handed over the keys of erstwhile Israeli Embassy in Tehran in 1979, which now serves as the Palestinian embassy.