Gaza has provoked outrage in the Muslim world , write Alex Vatanka and Mohammad Najib . Tehran is trying to build on the conflict , to gain influence by supporting Hamas , they say . Tehran never shut the door to the radical line of Hamas leaders , including Mahmoud al-Zahar in Gaza , and Imad al-Alami , the former representative of Hamas to Iran . This follows Iran 's backing of the al - Assad regime in Syria , while Hamas backs rebels . Hamas needs to return to Tehran 's orbit in order to get military supplies , authors say .
Gaza has provoked outrage in the Muslim world , write Alex Vatanka and Mohammad Najib . Tehran is trying to build on the conflict , to gain influence by supporting Hamas , they say . This follows Iran 's backing of the al - Assad regime in Syria , while Hamas backs rebels . Hamas needs to return to Tehran 's orbit in order to get military supplies , authors say .