Iran has considered itself at war with the United States and its Middle East allies since the revolution of 1979, and it has used proxy forces to varying extents in this campaign to provide a degree of deniability.
Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 and subsequent strikes by Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militias, and Yemen’s Houthis have focused increased attention on this shadow war and the Iranian-backed groups that carry it out.
Who are these groups, and how does Iran support them?
This article summarizes the research of experts from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on Iran’s proxy network. We invite readers to click on the links below to explore this subject in full detail.
LEBANON
What is Hezbollah?
Created in 1982, Hezbollah carried out car bombings, kidnappings, hijackings, and other attacks even before officially announcing itself in 1985. Its Islamic Jihad Organization claimed responsibility for the 1983 bombing of U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 service personnel. Until 9/11, Hezbollah was responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any other terrorist group, and the U.S. government designated it as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997. Today, it engages in a wide range of activities, including political activities in Lebanon, military efforts throughout the Middle East, and covert militant, criminal, and terrorist operations around the world. In Lebanon, the group is a fixture of the government, managing and exploiting a large network of social services. It is estimated to have 25,000-30,000 full-time fighters and about the same number of reservists.
Listen to the Institute podcast Breaking Hezbollah’s Golden Rule and view its interactive Hezbollah worldwide activity map.
How does Iran support it?
The relationship between Hezbollah and Iran provides a useful template for understanding how the Islamic Republic has extended its regional influence. Considered Iran’s “biggest and scariest attack dog,” the group receives between $800 million and $1 billion each year from Tehran. In addition, Iran has helped Hezbollah acquire an arsenal of 150,000-200,000 missiles and rockets, including tens of thousands of precision-guided missiles. The relationship is not an equal partnership, however—Tehran has frequently influenced the group’s decisions or blatantly given it specific orders.
What has it done since October 7?
Since October 7, Hezbollah has practiced measured escalation, with strikes across the Israel-Lebanon frontier. Several of its attacks have pushed beyond the two sides’ normal rules of engagement by making greater use of advanced weapons, conducting simultaneous attacks, and hitting new military and civilian targets. The conflict has led to the evacuation of communities on both sides of the border.
View the interactive Israel-Lebanon border attack map and read more about Hezbollah’s recent escalation.