Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad congratulated Hamas victory, the official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

Ahmadinejad congratulated Hamas political bureau chief Khalid Mashaal, on "the victory of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza."

"This is the outset of the victory and the resistance would complete it with making more achievements in the future", he told Mashaal in a telephone contact, adding that "The occupiers' withdrawal from Gaza Strip, removal of the Israeli blockades from the besieged area and reopening of the border crossings would pave the grounds for a complete victory."

On Sunday, Iran's Islamic Students Society invited Bolivian President Juan Evo Morales and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to Tehran to attend the feast of victory of the Palestinian resistance.

In separate letters sent to Bolivian and Venezuelan presidents, the society invited them to attend the feast which is to be held in Tehran.

"The feast will be hosted by Tehran University celebrating the victory of the resistance of the people of Gaza during the Zionist regime's savage attacks on the Gaza Strip", IRNA said.

After three weeks of an unprecedented Israeli air and ground offensive on Gaza since Dec. 27, about 1,240 Palestinians were killed and over 5,300 others wounded, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared a unilateral ceasefire in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, beginning from 2 a.m. (0000 GMT) Sunday.

(Xinhua News Agency January 19, 2009)