Iran launched dozens of drones at Israel on Saturday Israel in an attack that could spark a major escalation between the longtime regional foes. Tehran had threatened to retaliate against Israel for the April 1 airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, raising concerns about the possibility of further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, writes Reuters.
Iran has so far played no direct role in the conflict that has spread across the region for more than six months since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, while supporting groups directly involved in it that attack Israel, American interests and disrupt navigation in the Red Sea.
The groups created over years or even decades with the support of Iran define themselves as the "Axis of Resistance" against Israel and US influence in the region.
The Axis includes not only “Hamas”, the Palestinian group that ignited the current conflict in the Middle East by attacking Israel on October 7, but also the “Hezbollah” in Lebanon, the movement “Ansar Allah“ (the Houthis) in Yemen, as well as a number of different Shia armed groups in Iraq and Syria.
In the four decades since the Islamic Revolution (1979), Iran has formed and supported an increasing number of allied fighting forces in various parts of the Middle East. Iran's elite Quds Force, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is responsible for operations abroad and serves as the main point of contact with armed groups, also providing them with training, weapons and funds to promote Iranian regional goals, noted the US-based think tank Council on Foreign Relations.
„HIZBOUL“ IN LEBANON
„Hezbollah“ ("Party of God"), was formed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 1982 to fight against Israeli forces that invaded Lebanon that year. The heavily armed group, which is also an influential player on the political scene, shares Iran's Shiite Islamist ideology and is considered even more influential than the Lebanese state.
„Hezbollah“ serves as a model for other Iranian-backed groups in the region, some of which it advises or trains. The United States and other governments, including the Washington-allied Gulf Arab states, include “Hezbollah” on the list of terrorist organizations.
Since early October, the group has carried out almost daily attacks on Israeli targets along the Lebanese-Israeli border, sparking the heaviest exchange of fire between the two sides since the full-scale Israel-Lebanese war in 2006, Reuters notes.
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„Hezbollah“ claims that its attacks have helped to dislodge parts of the Israeli army while displacing tens of thousands of Israelis who have been forced from their homes near the border. Israeli air and artillery strikes also forced tens of thousands of Lebanese to flee.
According to Israeli security sources, Israel has killed about 240 Hezbollah fighters since October 7, including several senior commanders in Lebanon, in addition to 30 more killed in Israeli strikes in Syria. Altogether, this is equal to the losses of “Hezbollah” in the 2006 war, writes “Reuters“.
„HAMAS“
The Palestinian group “Hamas”, declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, has complicated relations with Iran, writes “Radio Free Europe”.
Established in 1987 during the First Intifada (Palestinian uprising), “Hamas“ is an offshoot of the Palestinian branch of the “Muslim Brotherhood” - an Islamist Sunni political organization founded in Egypt in the 1920s.
The political head of “Hamas“ is Ismail Haniya who lives in Qatar. The organization's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, is commanded by Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be in the Gaza Strip. According to various sources “Hamas” has about 20,000 fighters.
For years, Iran has provided limited material support to “Hamas”. Tehran is increasing its financial and military support for the Palestinian group after “Hamas” gained power in the Gaza Strip in 2007.
However, Tehran is reducing its support for “Hamas” following serious disagreements over the Syrian civil war. When the conflict erupted in 2011, Iran supported the government of President Bashar al-Assad. “Hamas” however, it stands behind the rebels who are trying to oust Assad.
Nevertheless, experts say that the countries have already overcome their differences, as they ultimately strive for the same goal: the destruction of Israel, notes “Radio Free Europe”.
After the fighters of “Hamas” carried out a cross-border attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took more than 250 hostages, Iran has strongly distanced itself from claims that it was involved in its planning.
Seyed Ali Alavi, lecturer in Middle Eastern and Iranian studies at London's University of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), said Iran's support for “Hamas” it is largely “limited to rhetorical and moral support and limited financial assistance”. He stated that Qatar and Turkey, the main allies of “Hamas”, have provided significantly more financial aid to the Palestinian group.
„PALESTINIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD“
With around 1,000 members, the “Palestinian Islamic Jihad” is the smaller of the two main militant groups based in the Gaza Strip, but also the closer to Iran.
Founded originally as a division of the “Muslim Brotherhood” in 1981, the establishment of the Sunni militant group was inspired by the Islamic Revolution in Iran two years earlier. Given Tehran's ambition to establish influence in the occupied Palestinian territories, Iran provides the group with significant financial support and weapons, experts say.
“Palestinian Islamic Jihad”, led by Ziyad al-Nakhla, has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, notes “Radio Free Europe”.
THE YEMENIAN HUSI
The Houthi movement established control over large parts of Yemen during the civil war that began in 2014 when it captured the capital Sanaa and toppled a government backed by Saudi Arabia, the region's leading Sunni Muslim power and Iran's main rival for regional influence. The Houthis belong to the Zaydi sect of Shiite Islam and have maintained friendly relations with Iran for many years, Reuters notes.
The war in Yemen has brought them into conflict with Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, which, wary of Iran's expanding influence, intervened in the war in 2015 to support the ousted government. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has supported diplomatic efforts to end the war, hosting Houthi negotiators in the capital Riyadh last September.
On October 31, the Houthis announced that they had taken sides in the conflict in the Gaza Strip, firing drones and rockets at Israel.
In November, the Houthis expanded their role in the conflict by launching targeted attacks on shipping in the southern Red Sea, saying they targeted ships belonging to Israeli companies flying the Israeli flag or bound for Israeli ports. – although some of the attacked ships are not known to have been linked to Israel, Reuters writes.
Attacks on merchant shipping prompted the US and UK to launch airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in January. The Houthis then announced that all US and British ships and warships involved in the "aggression" would be targeted for their strikes.
The attacks disrupted international trade on the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia, prompting some companies to divert their ships.
The US believes that the KGIR helped plan and carry out the Houthis' missile and drone attacks – a claim Iran flatly denies.
Reuters sources reported in January that commanders from KGIR and “Hezbollah” are on the ground in Yemen helping to direct and control attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. The Houthis deny any involvement by “Hezbollah” or Iran in carrying out the strikes.
In response to the attacks on shipping, the US put the Yemeni Houthi movement back on its list of terrorist groups.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis accuses Iran of arming, training and funding the group. For their part, the Houthis deny being part of Iran's network of factions (proxy militias).
ISLAMIC RESISTANCE IN IRAQ
Shiite groups linked to Iran have become powerful players in Iraq since the start of the US-led invasion in 2003, creating militias with tens of thousands of fighters, Reuters notes.
The group of Shiite Islamist armed factions called the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” began carrying out attacks against US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria in October, saying it was aimed at responding to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and to oppose US forces stationed in Iraq and the region.
The attacks stopped after a drone strike killed three American soldiers in Jordan on January 28, prompting heavy U.S. retaliatory airstrikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria and Iraq.
In February, Reuters reported that the head of the elite "Quds" to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has ordered the militias to cease attacks and take cover to avoid US strikes on their top commanders, the destruction of key infrastructure or even direct retaliation against Iran.
On April 1 "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" claimed responsibility for an air strike against the resort town of Eilat in Israel.
The Shia armed groups that fight as part of the “Hashd al-Shaabi” (Popular Mobilization Forces), play a leading role in Iraq in the fight against the radical Sunni Islamist group "Islamic State", which controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2017.
Although members of these Shia militias receive salaries from the state and are technically under the leadership of Iraq's prime minister, they often operate outside the chain of command of the Iraqi army.
The groups that carried out the January 28 attacks on US forces include “Kataib Hezbollah” (or the “Hezbollah“ Brigades) and the "Nujaba" – both are part of the “Hashd al-Shaabi“ and are closely associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Their arsenal includes drones with explosives, rockets and ballistic missiles. The groups have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US.
SYRIA
Besides Iran, Syria is the only country that is part of the “Axis of Resistance”.
"The relationship between Iran and the regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria is a strategic alliance in which Iran's influence is significant, but not absolute, which shows a balance between dependence and partnership," said to “Radio Free Europe” Hamidreza Zizi, Research Associate at the German Institute for International Relations and Security Affairs.
The long-standing alliance dates back to Damascus' support for Tehran during the devastating Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988).
When Assad's rule was called into question during the Syrian Civil War, Iran's Revolutionary Guards entered the conflict in 2013 to ensure he stayed in power.
Experts believe that at the moment there are hundreds of KGIR commanders and officers in Syria, whom Iran defines as "military advisers". Tehran has also built a large network of militias in Syria, composed mainly of Afghan and Pakistani fighters, notes “Radio Free Europe”.
Hamidreza Azizi said that it was these militias that gave Iran "deep influence over the country's affairs", although this did not amount to direct control of overall power over Syria. "The Assad regime maintains its strategic independence by making decisions that serve its national interests and those of its allies," he said.
The Fatimiyoun Brigade, made up of Afghan fighters, and the Zainabiyoun Brigade, made up of Pakistani fighters, make up the majority of Iran's proxy militias in Syria, according to Radio Free Europe.
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„Essentially, they are divisions of the KGIR and are under their direct control,” said Gregory Brew, an Iran analyst at the New York-based political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
Afghan and Pakistani militias have played a key role in fighting rebel groups opposed to the Assad regime during the civil war. There are reports that Iran has not only granted citizenship to Afghan fighters and their families, but has also facilitated the acquisition of Syrian citizenship, writes “Radio Free Europe”.
The "Fatimiyoun" Brigade, the larger of the two proxy militias, is believed to have several thousand fighters on the territory of Syria, and the "Zainabiyoun" Brigade – with less than 1000 fighters.
Despite being part of the "Axis of Resistance", the Syrian government of Assad does not play a direct role in the current conflict in the Gaza Strip. However, the Syrian territory is an arena of escalating tension, notes Reuters.
This includes recent attacks by Iranian-backed militias against US forces in the east, Israeli airstrikes in Syria targeting Iranian military personnel and members of Hezbollah, as well as exchanges of fire between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southwestern Syria.
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The Syrian government has been a close ally of Iran for decades. Both Tehran and Damascus say Iranian forces stationed in Syria have an advisory role at the government's invitation.