In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with a group of students in Tehran, Iran, Nov 1, 2023. (PHOTO / OFFICE OF THE IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER VIA AP)

TEHRAN - Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed his country's "permanent policy" of supporting the Palestinian resistance forces against Israel in a recent meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Khamenei met with Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and his accompanying delegation in the Iranian capital Tehran, according to a statement published on the leader's website on Sunday, without specifying the date of the meeting.

Khamenei reiterated his praise for the "strong people of Gaza for their patience and resistance," and strongly deplored "Israel's crimes that are being perpetrated with the direct support of the United States and certain Western countries."

He also called on Muslim states and the international community to make serious moves and provide the people of Gaza with "all-out and practical" support.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi added that "the silence of the United States and some European countries and their arms support to Israel are proof of their double standards and conspicuous complicity in Israel's crimes"

During the meeting, Haniyeh presented a report of the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as well as the Israeli "crimes" against the coastal enclave, according to the statement.

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Meanwhile, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has deplored the US and Western supplies of arms and equipment to Israel.

He made the remarks in a phone call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store on Saturday night, during which the two sides discussed the situation in Gaza and ways to end the conflict and lift the siege on the coastal enclave, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president's office on Sunday.

Raisi said the killing of civilians, particularly children, is "ghastly," denouncing it as "a flagrant instance of crime against humanity."

The Iranian president added that "the silence of the United States and some European countries and their arms support to Israel are proof of their double standards and conspicuous complicity in Israel's crimes."

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He called for stopping the war and killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible and making international efforts to immediately lift the blockade on it and allow the inflow of more humanitarian aid.

For his part, the Norwegian prime minister highlighted the necessity of immediately ending the violence and conflict in Gaza.

He noted that Norway and Iran could use diplomatic channels to hold consultations and cooperate on finding a solution to the conflict.

The Israel-Hamas conflict, raging for nearly a month, has led to the deaths of 9,770 Palestinians in Gaza. On the Israeli side, more than 1,400 people lost their lives, the vast majority in the Hamas military operation on Oct 7, which triggered the ongoing conflict.