Who Are Iran’s Axis of Resistance, And Is Iran Standing Alone In The War?
- Ofek Kehila
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Iran’s axis of resistance is employed by the Islamic Republic of Iran to attack Israel, the US, and their allies in the Middle East and across the globe. Who are they exactly? Given their activity, is Iran standing alone in this war? Let’s dive into the facts.
What is the axis of resistance?
The axis of resistance is a network of militant Islamist groups established and supported by Iran. Their purposes are to project Iran’s power, deter attacks, and wage war on Israel, the US, and their allies in the region and across the world.
The roots of the axis of resistance can be traced back to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, when, after the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty, Iran became a totalitarian state led by extremist Islamist clerics.
In the aftermath of the events of 1979, Iran sought to export the Islamic revolution abroad by establishing, funding, and arming terror proxies known as the axis of resistance: Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, Shi’ite militias in Syria and Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen.
Hezbollah in Lebanon
Hezbollah (the “Party of God” in Arabic) is a Lebanon-based Shia terrorist group. Formed in 1982 with strong support from Iran, Hezbollah has emerged as a powerful terrorist organization with military, political, and ideological activities, both within Lebanon and across the world.
Hezbollah has a troop strength of some 20,000 full-time fighters, including the elite Radwan Unit and a massive arsenal of weapons, such as long-range rockets, anti-ship missiles, and more. For decades, it has been involved in terrorism against American citizens, including the suicide truck bombings of the US Embassy and the US Marine barracks in Beirut.
This timeline outlines key milestones in Hezbollah’s history, charting the organization’s evolution from a small radical group to a virtual “state within a state” in Lebanon.
Currently, Hezbollah has joined the war and is attacking Israel, the US, and their allies in support of Iran’s regime, mostly by firing rockets and missiles at civilians in Israel.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, founded in 1987 and 1981, respectively, are terror organizations controlling the Gaza Strip. They function as allies and proxies for Iran, targeting Israelis, Americans, and others for decades.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s activity culminated on October 7, 2023, when over 3,000 terrorists breached Israel’s borders and launched a brutal assault on civilian communities across the country. As a result, more than 1,200 people were murdered, including women, children, infants, and the elderly. The atrocities perpetrated by Hamas and Islamic Jihad included widespread torture, mutilation, systematic sexual violence, and desecration of bodies. After the massacre, the Gaza war ensued between Israel and the terrorist organizations.
Today, Hamas and Islamic Jihad still control vast areas of the Gaza Strip. However, so far, they haven’t joined the American-Israeli war against Iran, acting instead to brutally quell opposition and murder innocent Palestinians within Gaza.
Shi’ite militias in Syria and Iraq
Another member of Iran’s axis of resistance is the Shi’ite militias, numerous paramilitary assets available to Iran in Syria and Iraq.
The militias were established as Iran’s proxies following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and during the Syrian civil war. They include the Afghan Fatemiyoun and the Pakistani Zainabiyoun in Syria, and Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haqq in Iraq.
Since the beginning of the war against Iran, Shi’ite militias have been targeting American forces across the region, including in a series of drone attacks on US bases in Iraq.
Houthis in Yemen
The Houthis are a Shi’ite Yemeni militia that was formed in the 1980s with support from Iran. Serving as Iran’s proxy in the area, its estimated 20,000 fighters and large arsenal of firepower have been waging war on Yemen’s government, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and the US.
Backed by Iran, the Houthis control roughly one-third of Yemen’s territory and more than two-thirds of its population.
Since Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israelis, they have emerged as a prominent player in the Gaza war, firing near-daily ballistic missiles and suicide drones at Israel and ships in the Red Sea while threatening the global economy.
Even though the Houthis have yet to join Iran in the current war, Israel prepares for an attack from Yemen as the terrorist proxy rearms with Iran's help.
Wrap up
A survey of the axis of resistance shows that Iran is not standing alone in its war against the US, Israel, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Even though Hamas and Islamic Jihad are currently out of the picture, Hezbollah and Shi’ite militias in Syria and Iraq are currently fighting alongside Iran, and it is possible that the Houthis would join soon.
Though weakened by recent events, Iran and its axis of resistance still pose a major threat to the world. Iran’s ambition to export its extremist Islamic revolution via its terrorist proxies and inflict critical damage on the US and its allies is one of the main reasons for the US-Israel war against the Iranian regime.
Ofek Kehila (Israel, 1987) is a scholar of Spanish Golden Age literature and Latin American literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. His research bridges the gap between those traditions, highlighting their aesthetic, cultural, and historical dialogue. He holds a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2022) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Freie Universität Berlin (2023-2025).