Iran has various allies and supporters in the Middle East. Who are these countries and what goals do they pursue?
Iran has established a network of allies in several Arab countries. In the Islamic Republic, the alliance of these groups is referred to as the axis of resistance. Iran denies directing attacks by these groups, but says they act on their own initiative. Iran arms and trains groups active in the following areas:
Gaza Strip
Iran supports the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organizations Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which has responded with a massive retaliatory attack aimed at eliminating Hamas. Iran positions itself as a champion of Palestinian resistance against Israeli occupation.
Irak
The leadership in Tehran supported Shiite militants in Iraq during the U.S. occupation and has maintained those ties. The 150,000-strong Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a state-sanctioned group of Iraqi paramilitaries, is dominated by heavily armed and battle-hardened groups loyal to Iran and with close ties to its Revolutionary Guards. PMF groups have fired rockets at US bases in dozens of attacks in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. responded with airstrikes, including one that killed a commander in Baghdad.
Syria
Syria is a key transit route for Iranian proxies between Iraq and Lebanon. After the Syrian civil war began in 2011, Iran intervened to prop up President Bashar al-Assad, sending Guard advisers and fighters from Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Lebanon’s Hezbollah fought alongside these groups and supported Assad. They continue to operate throughout Syria.
Video | With drones, rockets and cruise missiles: Major Iranian attack on Israel
Quelle: t-online
Lebanon
Hezbollah is Tehran’s most loyal militant ally. It was founded in the 1980s to combat Israeli troops in Lebanon. It has an arsenal of tens of thousands of missiles and highly trained fighters who have fought Sunni Islamists in Syria for years. Hezbollah and Israeli troops repeatedly engage in skirmishes on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
Yemen
The Houthi militia in Yemen conquered large parts of the country in 2014 and fought against Saudi-backed government troops. Iran initially supported the Houthis in the fight against its arch-rival Saudi Arabia. The Houthis – or Ansar Allah, the group’s official name – are now firing rockets at Israel as well as at merchant ships and oil tankers in the Red Sea that they associate with Israel. The US and Britain have attacked Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Houthis have declared their solidarity with the terrorist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They, Hezbollah and other groups have indicated that their attacks will only stop when Israel ends the war against the Palestinians.
What goals do they pursue?
Iran and its allies share the goal of stopping the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip and driving US troops out of the region. In addition, they have their own local interests.
Hezbollah is the most powerful group in Lebanon, whose economy is in free fall. It is trying to avoid further escalation of the conflict or intensive military actions by Israel that could endanger its position at home. The Houthis are seeking to maintain control in Yemen, analysts say, and have used the recent war as a means to assert their military strength and regional importance. The exact extent of Iran’s control over the actions is unclear.
The PMF in Iraq have enriched themselves by controlling large parts of the state and the economy. Groups more loyal to Iran follow Tehran’s orders, others seek money and power and anticipate a regional conflagration could erode their dominance in Iraq, some officials say.
According to a Reuters report, Hamas surprised Iran and other members of the Axis of Resistance with its attack on October 7. It seeks an end to the Israeli occupation and wants to ensure that the Palestinian issue is not forgotten as Israel builds closer ties with the Arab Gulf states.
