(2 Feb 2009)
1. Zoom out of Khaled Mashaal, Hamas Political Leader waving at crowd with flowers around his neck at podium
2. Wide of crowd cheering
3. Wide of Mashaal and Hamas delegation at podium, UPSOUND (Arabic) "Death to Israel"
4. Cameramen
5. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Khaled Mashaal, Hamas Political Leader:
"We thank Iran for all its material, political and Islamic support and the value of these support will never be hidden from God and Palestinian people."
6. Wide of crowd chanting (Farsi) "The Zionist regime must be destroyed"
7. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Khaled Mashaal, Hamas Political Leader:
"Israel was beaten in its attempt to prevent launch of (Hamas) missiles towards its residential areas and we saw that even after the cease-fire, the missiles kept being launched."
8. Wide of Mashaal at podium
9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Khaled Mashaal, Hamas Political Leader:
"I thank Iran's civilians and officials supports. In our meeting with the leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader), we reached an agreement on how Iran will take action in Gaza reconstruction."
10. Wide of people chanting (Farsi) "death to America"
11. Khaled Mashaal, Hamas delegation and an Iranian cleric holding hands at podium and chanting slogans
STORYLINE:
Hamas' exiled political leader Khaled Mashaal delivered a speech at Tehran University on the second day of his visit in Iran on Monday, praising Iran's role in helping the militant group during Israel's offensive on Gaza.
During a ceremony to honour Hamas after a three-week Israeli offensive on Gaza, Mashaal thanked the Iranian people and government for their "material, political and Islamic support."
In spite of the fact that Hamas suffered enormous losses from Israel's assault, Mashaal claimed that Israel was defeated Gaza because it could not stop Hamas from firing missiles at the Jewish state.
An informal January 18 cease-fire has been tested by sporadic Palestinian shelling attacks and Israeli airstrikes.
Flower rings were given to Mashaal and people chanted anti-Israeli slogans during the ceremony.
Earlier in the day, Mashaal met with Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and told him that Iran played a role in what he called the victory for Gazans in the war with Israel, Iranian state TV reported.
Israel accuses Iran of supplying weapons to Hamas, which has battered southern Israel with rockets.
Iran denies the charge and says it only gives the group money.
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