Iran on Wednesday said that the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip had a right to posess arms, the website of state television network IRIB reported.
"A nation which has to defend itself has the natural right to get its necessary resistance instruments [arms] through whatever way," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said at a conference on the Gaza crisis.
He said that while Israel has access to 300 tons of bombs, some world powers demand the Hamas have none, and not defend itself and its lands, reported dpa.
"Instead of condemning the Zionist [Israeli] leaders, they [the world powers and Egypt] call for blocking access of the resistance [Hamas] from getting arms," Mottaki said.
Iran, which is a fierce supporter of Hamas and does not acknowledge Israel as a sovereign state, has constantly said that its support for Hamas is just of a spiritual nature and it has never provided Hamas with military aid.