Member of the Fatah central committee, Azzam al- Ahmed, has said thatbr Iran is funding some Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip in order tobr thwart efforts of reconciliation with Fatah. Ahmed's charges came inbr response to the visits of two top Hamas leaders, Mahmoud Zahar andbr Ismail Haniyeh, to Iran in the past few weeks. Relations between Hamasbr and Iran were strained recently following the Islamist movement'sbr refusal to support Syrian President Assad.