The chief of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement says late Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi and former Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian played a major role in victories scored by the resistance factions.

“Martyr Raeisi and martyr Amir-Abdollahian scored significant gains for the resistance and the region and brought the positions of various countries closer to Palestine,” Ziad al-Nakhaleh said at a ceremony held in Tehran on Thursday.

“This was a gain for Palestine and the entire region,” he told the event to mark the 40th day since the passing of President Raeisi in a helicopter crash, hailing the country for taking the upheaval in its stride with fortitude and composure.  

Referring to Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, Nakhaleh said President Raeisi defended Palestine in all international forums, adding his statements are still “effective.”

“We will not forget the positions of the Iranian president and his martyred foreign minister in support of Palestine,” he added.

The helicopter carrying president Raeisi and his entourage crashed when it was on its way to Tabriz, the capital of Iran’s East Azarbaijan province.

Amir-Abdollahian along with Friday Prayers leader of Tabriz city Mohammad Ali Al-e Hashem, and Malek Rahmati, the governor of East Azarbaijan Province, as well as crew members and a bodyguard also lost their lives in the crash.

The incident engulfed Iran in shock and grief and generated a groundswell of support and solidarity from Muslims and non-Muslims across the world.

Nakhaleh also thanked Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Iran’s officials and nation for their unflinching support for the Palestinian people and resistance.

“God willing, we will continue together [on the path to] towards the victory of al-Quds and Palestine,” al-Nakhaleh added.

Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime's decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed at least 37,765 Palestinians and injured over 86,429. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.