The Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas has expressed its sadness regarding the helicopter crash that killed the Iranian president and his foreign minister.

“We express our shared feelings of sadness and pain with the brotherly Iranian people, and our complete solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said a Hamas statement.

The movement praised what it described the “honourable positions in support of our Palestinian cause, and the support of the legitimate struggle of our people against the Zionist entity.”

It also commended Iran’s intense political and diplomatic efforts “to stop the Zionist aggression against our Palestinian people,” in Gaza.

Iran is a main supporter of Hamas.