The "Axis of Resistance," which Iran has perfected over the past four decades, is a loose network of outposts and intermediaries, Tehran-backed militant groups, and allied state actors that play an important role in Iran's strategy to confront the West, its Arab enemies and primarily Israel.

This so-called a militant alliance is very likely to be activated if Tehran decides to take revenge for the assassination of the leader of its close ally Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, writes the Balkan service of "Al Jazeera".

Namely, as the media reports, this "militant alliance" is active in several countries in the region, namely in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, but also in other places. This network has for years allowed Iran to wreak havoc on enemy territory, while at the same time creating space for a position from which it can credibly deny its involvement.

Now, according to Middle East experts, this "Resistance" will most likely be used against Israel and the United States. In other words, the stronger the eventual response from Israel and the stronger the retaliation from Israel's Shiite and Sunni enemies in the region, the better it will be for Iran.

This is a strategy that predates 1979 and the Islamic Revolution, and according to experts it has been perfected and rebranded as the "axis of resistance" by the Quds Force, Iran's elite overseas branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRG).

"Although it is a new term, the 'axis of resistance' actually describes an old phenomenon and it is identified as an individual or group that is willing to fight for Iran in order to obtain funds, weapons, military training and intelligence support," said Ali Alfoneh, a researcher from the Institute of Arab Gulf States in Washington.

But while Iran has openly positioned itself as the leading voice of the network and calls for global resistance against Israel and the West, some of the Quds Force avoid micromanagement and give middlemen room to maneuver, explains researcher Alfine.

Лiban Hezbollah

Hezbollah, meaning "Party of God," was founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli forces that had invaded Lebanon earlier that year. She is tThe Eshko militia, which is also an influential player in Lebanese politics, shares Iran's Shiite ideology and is widely seen as more powerful than the Lebanese state, Reuters reports. on this topic. 

Hezbollah served as a model for other Iranian-backed organizations throughout the Middle East, some of which it advised or trained. СBP и other governments from the region, including the Arab countries of Middle East close to Washington, consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

The Yemeni Houthis

The Houthi rebel movement established control over large parts of Yemen during a civil war that began in 2014 when it captured the capital Sanaa and toppled a government backed by Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's leading Sunni Muslim power and Iran's main rival for regional power. influence.

The Houthis belong to the Zaydi sect of Shia Islam and have long had friendly ties with Iran.

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 Yemen in 2015 in support of the ousted government. Saudi Arabia has supported diplomatic efforts to end the war in recent years, hosting Houthi negotiators in Riyadh last September.

On October 31, the Houthis announced that they had entered the Gaza conflict by firing drones and missiles at Israel. In November, they expanded their role by attacking ships in the southern Red Sea, saying they targeted ships belonging to Israel or sailing to Israeli ports, although some of the targeted ships have no known connection to Israel.

The campaign prompted the US and UK to launch airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen in January. The Houthis have said that all US and British ships and warships participating in the "aggression" will be targeted by their attacks. The attacks disrupted international trade on the shortest sea route between Europe and Asia, causing some shipping companies to divert their ships.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq

Shiite groups with ties to Iran have become powerful players in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion. year and developed paramilitary units with tens of thousands of fighters.

An organization of armed Shiite factions in Iraq called the Islamic Resistance began attacking US forces stationed in Iraq and Syria last October year, announcing that they aim to respond to the Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza and to give them ce oppose US forces deployed in Iraq and the region.

The attacks stopped after three US soldiers were killed in a drone strike in Jordan on January 28, prompting heavy retaliatory US airstrikes against Iran-linked targets in Syria and Iraq.

Paramilitary forces from Syria

The Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad is part of the "axis of resistance" but has no direct role in the current conflict. However, Syrian territory has been an arena of escalation in recent years.

These include attacks by Iranian-backed paramilitary forces against US forces in the East and Israeli airstrikes in Syria against Iranian personnel and interests, including the April 1 attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.

Israeli strikes have also killed members of Hezbollah in Syria, and there have been occasional exchanges of fire from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and southwestern Syria. These militant groups are also expected, according to the writings of the world media, to give support to Iran if it decides to respond militarily to the killing of the leader of Hamas by Israel.