Hamas says its leader shook hands with Saudi Arabia's King Salman after
Muslim holiday prayers, signaling an easing of tensions over the
Palestinian group's ties with Iran.
There was no official announcement in Saudi state media of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's visit to Saudi Arabia.
The visit came days after Iran reached a nuclear deal with Western powers, prompting concern among its regional rivals.
A
Hamas website said Friday that Mashaal and the Saudi king attended
prayers in the holy city of Mecca and that the two shook hands.
Hamas says Mashaal met the Saudi intelligence chief Thursday.
Saudi-Hamas
ties had been strained for a decade since a Saudi-brokered
reconciliation agreement between Hamas and its rival Fatah faction
collapsed.