Hamas-controlled Gaza and Iran have strengthened ties with a “sister-city” agreement linking Tabriz, located in northwestern Iran, with Gaza City, according to the Fars News Agency, controlled by the Islamic Republic.
Tabriz Mayor Ali Reza Novin and Gaza Mayor Refik Salem Mekki Novin said, “The sisterhood of the two cities was approved by Tabriz Islamic City Council after last year’s savage attacks by the Zionist regime on the Gaza Strip.
“The grounds for the sisterhood of Tabriz as the first capital city of the Shiite world and the Gaza city as a symbol of resistance and sacrifice came on our agenda when Gazans where experiencing the second Israeli war in 2012.”