WITH rebel attacks in the Red Sea Down airstrikes in northern Israel and October 7, 2023, Hamas attackWestern analysts pointed the finger of blame at Iran.
Regardless of Tehran’s direct involvement in planning and carrying out such incidents, the accusations speak to a broader truth: in Middle East geopolitics, Iran’s strategy of allying with violent non-state actors – notably Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen – influences on the regional balance of power.
How experts on relations with Iran With your network of proxy serverswe understand that Iran’s ties to every group are distinct but interconnected, demonstrating Tehran’s regional goals. From southern Lebanon to Gaza to Yemen, these alliances shape the political landscape and underscore the nature of influence and control in proxy war. It serves as a counterweight to relatively Iran limited conventional military capabilitieswhich is a key element of his foreign policy.
Iran’s “Axis of Resistance”
Managed by Islamic Revolutionary Guard CorpsIran’s paramilitary security service, which reports only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, these regional groups form what Tehran has described as the Axis of Resistance.
The relationship between these groups and Tehran is meant to function a balance to each U.S. influence in the region and Washington’s regional allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.
However, it’s somewhat inappropriate to characterize the Axis of Resistance as easy proxies. Iran’s approach – which incorporates Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and the Palestinian territories – is as an alternative to expand its influence through strategic partnerships. These alliances, although based on common goals and ideologies, provide various degrees of autonomy. Iran provides resources and coordination, but each group maintains its own agenda and local support base, functioning more as partners than proxies. And the relationship between Iran and each member of this Axis of Resistance is exclusive.
Hezbollah: Iran’s key partner
Founded in the early Nineteen Eighties, Hezbollah – a Shiite militant organization – was established with the direct assistance of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, primarily in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Aiming to determine an Iranian-influenced base on Israel’s border, Tehran provided training, financial support and weapons, strengthening Hezbollah’s development and capabilities.
Thanks to this cooperation, Hezbollah has developed a complicated arsenal, including a sophisticated one drone technology, chemical weapon AND expanded rocket possibilities.
As a result of involvement in Civil war in Syria and ongoing hostilities with Israel, Hezbollah did it professionalized its army. By deploying troops to support the Syrian government in keeping with Iran’s support for the regime, Hezbollah has transitioned from guerrilla tactics to a more conventional method of warfare. Additionally, the ongoing conflict with Israel has exacerbated this example military strategy and capabilities. This helped elevate Hezbollah to a distinguished political and military role in the Lebanese government, which regularly aligned with Iran’s geopolitical interests.
This evolution has also enabled Hezbollah to turn into a mentor and supporter of other Iran-backed groups. Hezbollah handed over its share experience in drone operations to organizations akin to Fatemiyoun in AfghanistanIraq Kataib Hezbollah and Houthi fighters.
The relationship between Tehran and Hezbollah has deepened over the years, evolving from mere aid to a solid strategic alliance. Entities share common goals, strategies and materials. The close relationship between Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s Khamenei further cements this alliance.
Despite Iran’s considerable influence, especially in regional conflicts, Hezbollah retains its autonomy in Lebanese national politics and its social services.
This Hezbollah-Iran alliance is arguably more necessary than Iran’s relations with other proxies and plays a key role in Tehran’s regional strategy. It not only increases Iran’s influence in the Middle East, but in addition serves as a counterweight to its opponents, especially Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Hamas: United against Israel
Appearing in the first intifada, i.e. the Palestinian rebellion, which took place in 1987Hamas established relations with Iran in the early Nineties. Despite their ideological differences – Hamas is predominantly Sunni Islamist, while Iran is a hardline Shiite regime – they found common ground of their opposition to Israel and a shared vision of Palestinian liberation.
Iran’s support for Hamas includes financial aid, military training and the most significant, Delivery With rocket technology. This financing escalated Hamas’ actions operational capabilitiesenabling the development of a more sophisticated and long-range missile arsenal.
Iran’s support has modified the balance in the Hamas-Israel conflict, revealing Iran’s influential role in regional power dynamics.
However, the alliance between Iran and Hamas has fluctuated. In 2012, differences of opinion regarding the civil war in Syria introduced a split of their relationship. Hamas’ tacit support for Sunni rebels in Syria was inconsistent with Iran’s loyalty to the Assad regime, resulting in temporary withdrawal Iranian support.
However, this strain was not persistent. In the following years, Iran-Hamas relations continued evened and strengthened, as evidenced by Iran’s resumption of significant military aid. The sophisticated planning and execution of the October 7 attack demonstrated how Hamas managed to enhance its military capabilities with Iran’s help.
Nevertheless, the group maintains its level political and strategic independencefocusing primarily on Palestinian interests.
This dynamic reflects Iran’s broader regional strategy: empowering allied groups to expand its reach while granting them autonomy to pursue specific agendas.
Houthis: strategic ally against Saudi Arabia
The Houthi movement, which emerged in the Nineties in Yemen as a bunch of Zaidi Shiite Islamists, initially focused on religious and cultural revival previously progressively get engaged in Yemen’s political and military arena.
Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu via Getty Images
Fueled by grievances against the central government and foreign interference in Yemen, the group launched an armed rebel. This evolution has been marked growing confrontations with the Yemeni government and involvement in a broader regional conflict against a coalition led by Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia. This set the stage for his or her alliance with Tehran.
Houthis alliance with Iran was motivated by shared religious beliefs in addition to opposition to each Saudi Arabia and the United States
Cooperation with Iran has gained momentum following the Houthis capture of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa in 2014 – a move believed to have resulted in an escalation of support for Iran.
Tehran’s support got here in the form of a complicated weaponmilitary training and financial aid, and it happened significantly strengthened Houthi missile and drone capabilities. The Houthis have exploited this crop ability to challenge Saudi Arabia and, recently, Israel
The Houthis, empowered by Iran’s support, did so expanded cover their activities attacks on the US and other international ships in Red Sea.
Despite deep support from Iran, the Houthis retain a level of autonomy, particularly in local Yemeni politics. Although Iran’s influence is important, it does not translate into total control. Instead, the Houthis are viewed more as strategic allies in Iran’s regional agenda, fairly than merely as proxies.
Iran’s growing influence
Iranian proxy network that extends to groups in Iraq, Syria AND aside fromis a key element of Tehran’s technique to expand its influence and counter the influence of Washington and its allies.
These partnerships, although rarely engaging absolute control, also reveal Iran’s ability to navigate the geopolitical landscape. The Axis of Resistance allows Iran to adapt its technique to changing regional dynamics. For example, placing Hamas under the leadership of the Revolutionary Guard suits into a technique of confrontation with Israel as regional dynamics shift toward normalization between Israel and Arab states.
Such partnerships also pose a challenge to Iran’s adversaries. Deterring such proxy groups requires navigating a fancy web of relationships, interests and ongoing conflicts. This complexity, combined with Iran’s key role, has transformed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, signaling a period of heightened tensions with wide international implications.